Halcyon Days
by yumemirunosekai
Summary: When Eren first sees the small figure curled into himself, unmoving on the swing, he thinks it's a hallucination. It is impossible, because the Corporal is supposed to be his superior. He is supposed to be more experienced, more refined, more mature. But now, Eren is staring at that familiar face, posture… On a child.
1. Reunion

**A/N: Hello, I'm back from the dead with a new fic. I know I haven't updated Edelweiss or TTD, but this idea just hit me like a ton of bricks, and I was going to combust if I didn't write it, so here we are! I dunno what the hell happened, but poof went the writer's block this afternoon. I was on a roll and this practically wrote itself. I'm not sure if it's any good, but if you like gen, then enjoy! **

**This is a _gen_ fic, okay? There will be no pairings of any kind, just some good ol' family fluff, because I believe the fandom is seriously lacking in it.**

**I'll try to keep Levi as in character as possible, but in this fic he is a child, so you can't really expect him to act exactly like the Levi who can cuss and kill without blinking twice. Besides, I have a really strong craving for some deredere Levi recently after all the child!levi doujins.**

**Beta-ed by: moonspire11 , aka my lovely cousin**

* * *

><p>When Eren first sees <em>that person<em>, he thinks it's a hallucination.

It is impossible, because the Corporal is supposed to be his _superior_. He is supposed to be more experienced, more refined, more mature. The 'grown up' if you will.

In all his life, Corporal Levi has been a kind of beacon for him. In Eren's opinion, Levi is somewhat the guardian he wished he had. In many ways, the Corporal has been more of a father— well, not so much as a mentor to him than anyone else. Looking past Corporal Levi's hostile demeanour, his obsessive compulsive need for cleanliness, decorum, and order, Levi has always been by his side helping him, no matter how discreetly, through countless ordeals.

Eren knows that underneath it all, regardless of how rude and unsympathetic he may be, everything Corporal Levi did was for his benefit. The only reason why the Military Police hadn't removed his head clean off his shoulders was because of Corporal Levi's influence on the higher ups.

But Eren would be lying if he said he wasn't afraid of the Corporal. At times he wondered whether the Corporal was just out for his blood; but there are those rare moments where the Corporal would become so gentle — for someone as violent as him that is — and Eren would think that he was still sleeping and having a very vivid dream, waiting to be woken up by a fist to the face by yours truly.

Eren remembers the last time he was with the Corporal. It was not a pleasant memory.

The Corporal was lying three feet away from him, ribcage ripped open and titan teeth sinking into whatever was left of his corpse. Eren could do nothing but watch. He hadn't known whether to feel sad or angry, because now at least Corporal Levi was free. For years he had been fighting, pushing for humanity, and what have they done in return? In Eren's eyes, the only reason why the Corporal was placed on a golden pedestal and worshipped was because humanity needed him. Everybody used him. even Erwin. Eren remembers feeling very angry at the world for the unfairness, because what had Corporal Levi ever done to deserve this?

He was kind. _Levi was kind_. He didn't care how many people disagreed with him. So when Eren watched his Corporal's eyes turn glassy and dead, he feels relief (however strange that may sound), and he in turn, slowly — ever so slowly — succumbs to the feeling of large clumsy fingers ripping his body out of the boiling vice of flesh and muscle, before blessed darkness and silence greet him.

And now, he is staring at his Corporal's familiar face, posture… on a child.

He has to blink to make sure his mind isn't just fucking with him, because it's just not possible. Surely reincarnation isn't playing some stupid mind game on him?

But the more he stares, the more obvious it is. That child isn't some random carbon copy of his former Corporal; that person definitely _is_ Corporal Levi… Right?

Eren doesn't really know what to do. He glances hastily at his wristwatch — damn, he is already late. Mikasa isn't going to let him off this time, Eren is sure.

Just minutes ago Eren had been in his small, 3 room apartment, curled up in a warm blanket in front of the television with a cup of hot cocoa cradled in his hands. Before MIkasa had called out of the blue, and upon answering his phone, Eren had been subjected to a barrage of high pitched yells that almost sent his balls right back up where they came from. Mikasa had never sounded so out of character before.

Three words she then said had his mug of coacoa crashing to the hardwood floor, and sent him shooting out of his home after haphazardly pulling on a coat, scarf and shoes.

"_I've found Jean."_

Eren would have been lying if he said he wash't excited. It had been years (literally) since he had seen Horseface, and now finally…

Eren believes that he is probably one of the earliest to remember, other than Mikasa that is. Perhaps he didn't really forget in the first place.

It had been a strange sensation: to fell himself dying at the hands of a titan horde, drifting into oblivion, and the next thing he knows, he is lying in a bed of softness staring up at gaudy looking plastic suns and moon hanging above his head with two people — a man and woman — smiling down at him.

He never really believed in reincarnation, but all the shit that happened after he was old enough to properly think for himself certainly suggested otherwise.

It was excruciating, being a helpless child who had the memories of a man who had seen more than he should. Eren was sure his parents must have grown sick of his constant nightmares and bed-wetting as a child. He'd been to numerous psychiatrists and psychologists, but of course nothing helped. Eren still remembered scoffing to himself whenever his parents dragged him to see yet another shrink — as if they helped at all — about how pointless this was. Eren hasn't always been patient (even in his past life), but what the heck? He should just go with the flow of time, shouldn't he?

But what he really wanted was to hurry up and grow up so he could find the rest of his friends; the people who had fought the titans beside him, all those years ago.

Apparently Eren hadn't needed to do anything, because two days after his nineteenth birthday, Mikasa (a _very_ young looking Mikasa) had showed up at his doorstep, all dishevelled, her face red and eyes watery. In her hand was a scrap of paper in which his address had been hastily scribbled on.

That day, Eren cried for the first time in years.

Apparently, Mikasa had been trying to find him since she was _ten_. From that day onwards, they have been trying to find the rest of their friends. It was difficult, because they could be anywhere. Facebook and social networking proved to be a dead end, with over millions of results for the names they typed in. Mikasa had suggested they start out small, focusing on their squad first before moving on to people like Hange and Erwin.

Eren had been surprised to find out that the Mikasa in this time was six years his junior, which of course, meant that he had graduated high school before she could, and coincidentally, attended the college Armin was studying in. It was even more ridiculous that they were, again, _coincidentally_, in the same year.

It was a very bittersweet reunion.

Armin did not remember anything at all, and Eren had felt his heart drop to the ground. But then again, perhaps it was a good thing, because Armin didn't have to go thought the mental torture of reliving those days in his dreams.

Even though Eren and Armin became fast friends, going to college together, hanging out together, graduating together, Armin has never remembered, not even when he moved away for an internship at a hospital out of the country. Eren found himself okay with it. He would wait.

A rough shove to the side of his waist shakes Eren from his reverie, and he barely registers the shouts of 'Sorry, mister!' from two kids, but has his gaze zooms in on the Corporal again. He must look weird, standing in the middle of the sidewalk like some idiot, but really, Eren doesn't know what the hell to do now.

It would be an entirely different situation if the Corporal had been a grown adult, but he looks no older than four! Eren is a goddamned twenty-seven-year-old man. He _knows_ he can't just waltz up and start talking to the child for no reason like some creepy pedophile. He'd get arrested in two minutes flat!

Eren doesn't want to justify the burning sensation behind his eyes. He wants to hyperventilate, scream, punch someone, or rush in and just… do _something_, for god's sake. He'd been searching for the Corporal for ages, almost giving up. He just wants to… No. Not now. He needs to calm down. Think about the situation with a clear head. Horseface can go screw himself — wow, that sounds harsh even for him — but the Corporal is top priority. Mikasa can kill him when he sees her. He'll take the risk.

Eren quickly scans the park. Perhaps the Corporal's parents in this life are about? He frowns. There are only four adults fussing over a rather large group of children, all bundled up in thick wool coats similar to Corporal Levi's. His frown deepens as he takes in the plastic smiles of the adults, who are all dressed in beige coats with a similar emblem embroidered on the right breast.

Eren has been a kindergarten teacher for 3 years. He'd be stupid if he did not recognise orphanage caretakers if he saw one. Despite having smiles on their faces, Eren can see that none of it reaches their eyes, which are as cold as ice. He recognises the orphanage as the one three blocks away from the park. Eren passes it every day on his way to work, and he wants to hit himself for not noticing that the Corporal was part of it until this moment.

As he gazes at Corporal Levi's small form, seated alone on a swing, it looks so incredibly unnatural and just so… _wrong_ that is scares him. Why does the Corporal look so, so _weak_? The slight slouch in his shoulders, making him curl into himself, the blank, emotionless eyes that seem to stare out at nothing sends shivers up Eren spine.

Why?

Why is it that even in this world, everything has to be so unfair? So cruel?

Eren grits his teeth.

He needs to approach him, to confirm that the child is indeed Corporal Levi. However, as Eren's mind is still contemplating the few alternatives which he can opt to approach the boy without looking like some sleazy pervert, five children; all with larger, bulkier builds, crowd around the lone figure on the swing.

They are dressed in different coloured woollen jumpers, so Eren can only assume that they are not part of the orphanage's group.

Eren isn't blind to notice how the child's body tenses, sleet grey eyes flicking from one boy to the next with a strange light in them. Eren's stomach drops when he identifies it as fear. Raw, unadulterated fear.

"Look, it's the freak." Says the largest boy, an ugly smirk twisting at his lips.

"What happened? Mommy tossed you away, is that it? Must have freaked her out so much she didn't want you anymore."

Eren blinks, brain still processing the spiteful words escaping the lips of this mere child. What shocks him the most is that Corporal, Levi, doesn't do anything. He sits there with his head bowed, silent and submissive, and Eren just can't believe what he is seeing.

The Corporal from the past would not have taken any of the shit this jerk of a kid was sprouting. Corporal would have made the kid's face one with the ground for this blatant disrespect. Corporal Levi would have —

Eren pauses.

Wait, this _isn__'__t_ the Corporal Levi from the past. He has to remember that. This Corporal Levi probably didn't even remember his past life. Heck, he isn't even a hundred percent certain that this _is_ the Corporal. Furthermore, he is a child. Eren can't possibly expect a mere child to take on five others who are so obviously bigger than him.

Eren feels his heart clench painfully. What is this? It is unsettling to watch. How can mere children be this nasty? Eren doesn't remember anyone, even back in the days, being so unrestrained with their words.

_He wants to strangle these kids._

Swallowing tightly, he quickly looks around. What the hell are the adults doing? Are they blind? Eren sees them clustered at the slides, herding the group of children and forcing them to take turns. None of them notices the bullies cornering the smaller boy.

When one of the larger boys shove the smaller child off the swing, sending his slight body tumbling to the snowy ground, Eren's parental instincts kick in. _How dared they_. Is the first thought that passes through the haze of rage in his mind, as he swiftly stalks toward the scene, throwing all reason to the hell.

"What are you boys doing?"

There is a small thrum of satisfaction when the five boys gasp in surprise and turn around, their faces paling as as they laid eyes on Eren's furious expression. Eren is well known for his patience and kindness at the kindergarten he works at. He never ever so much as screamed or shouted at any of the children. But at this moment, Eren wants nothing more than to smash the skulls of each and every one of these bullies into the ground.

"W-We… er…"

Pathetic.

These kids are nothing but cowards.

Eren's expression is still contorted in displeasure as he reaches out for the fallen boy. The bullies hurriedly back away as Eren brushes by them. As he slips a hand underneath the Corporal's — geez, it sounds so weird addressing a kid 'Corporal', mentally even! — arm and gently hoists the small body up to his feet. Eren doesn't miss the slight flinch of the small boy at the contact, but he doesn't struggle, but lets Eren do what he wishes. Eren mentally cringes at how thin the child's arm is beneath the coat. This just isn't right.

He gently dusts the flecks of snow off the child and straightens his coat. Glancing over his shoulder, he scowls at the sight of the bullies.

"I catch any one of you doing things like that again, I will not hesitate to report you, child or not." Eren says coldly, green eyes sparked with irritation.

"Now get the hell out of my sight."

The bullies nod jerkily before hightailing away from him. Eren doesn't wait to see where they rush off to. So what if he may have been a tad bit harsh? He hardly cares. Turning back to the small boy, Eren notes that he is staring at his feet, black locks shielding his face.

Smiling softly, Eren squats down to the child's height.

"Are you okay? You aren't hurt anywhere, are you?"

Trying to get him to look up, Eren reaches a gloved hand forward, slowly. It will not do to startle him. Eren likes to think that he understands children well. And he knows fear and discomfort when he sees it.

Touching the side of the boy's jaw, Eren tries to tilt his head up, but the boy moves away, taking a small step back from Eren.

_This won__'__t do_, Eren decides. He stares worriedly at this small child before him: fragile and thin, wrapped in that too big coat and almost drowning in the scarf twisted around his throat.

"Erm…" Eren scratches the side of his face awkwardly. "A-Are you— I mean, is your name by any chance, Levi?"

The child jumps slightly at Eren's words, and slowly turns his head up. Eren takes in the sight of the person's face before him.

It is all the same: the cool grey eyes, high cheekbones and slanting brows. Admittedly, it is weird to see that familiar hairstyle on a child, a face free of soft wrinkles around the eyes, and gaze lacking the sarcastic gleam that the old Corporal Levi was so famous for. Despite that, Eren can still see it: the weariness in that small cherubic face, like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. It is a familiar yet painful look, and Eren just want's to wipe it off completely.

The eyes that look up at him are dull and lifeless, a stark difference form the childlike wonder on the faces of the many children attending the kindergarten he works at.

"Your name is Levi, isn't it."

It is a statement rather than a question, and Eren takes the lack of protest as a 'yes'.

He doesn't know where to begin. It is clearly obvious that this Corporal Levi remembered nothing of his past life, which just makes everything harder. Eren isn't sure what to do. Should he tell Levi who he is? No. That's stupid. As if the kid will believe him.

Well what else can he do? He can't really do anything like take Levi away, or ask him to go with him. That will definitely be seen as a criminal act. Something short of kidnapping the boy, or luring him away to—

Eren groans mentally.

Maybe he should contact someone… Mikasa! She will definitely know what to do. But that may take too long, and by the looks of it, the child in front of him wants nothing better than to get away from him if the uncomfortable expression is anything to go by.

But before Eren can come to a rational decision, there is a stern voice behind him, startling the man and forcing him to turn around. Eren comes face to face with the suspicious gaze of one of the orphanage orderlies in the dull beige coat.

"Excuse me sir, but what do you want with this child?"

_Crap. Perfect, just perfect._

"Oh, er… I saw him getting bullied, and I was just trying to help—"

"Well, I have to ask you to move away sir." The orderly says sharply, and she reaches forwards to grab the Corporal's hand.

"And you know better than to wander off without telling one of us. Honestly, what is wrong with you, Levi? It's like you never learn." The woman snaps at the boy, her eyes narrowing into slits.

Eren frowns.

The woman drags the boy away by his hand roughly, the small legs tripping over each other in the snow. Eren stares after the woman with dislike and annoyance. If that was how children were treated like at that orphanage, he'll have something to say about it. But for now, all he can do is watch, as the Corporal — no, Levi is dragged away to the group of children ready to board a bus.

He has to do something.

It is not two seconds after this thought that he cellphone rings, and Eren absently pulls out the device and jabs 'answer'.

"Yeah? Who —"

"_You were supposed to be here an hour ago, Eren."_

The murderous tone of Mikasa reaches his ears, and Eren gets out an undignified yelp. _Jean_. Shit. He forgot.

"I- I'm sorry!" Eren says, as he tries to get his bearings straight. "I was side-tracked—"

"_Get here. Now. I give you 5 minutes, or else."_

And Eren knows he'd better get on it. He really doesn't want to know what 'or else' meant.

* * *

><p>When he arrives at Mikasa's home, Eren is a mess: hair sticking up from all sides, and panting heavily. He fumbles for the key that Mikasa had given him, but the door is flung open, smashing right into his face.<p>

"O-ow…"

"Where _were_ you, Eren?" Mikasa says, her voice hard. "Do you have any idea how worried I was? What if you were kidnapped? Mugged? Hurt?"

Eren holds up a hand, and Mikasa stops, a scowl marring her pretty features.

"Please, Mikasa," Eren says, rubbing his sore nose. "I am older than you, and therefore definitely capable of handling myself. You don't have to worry your head off, geez."

Mikasa frowns and huffs. "You may be older, but that doesn't change the fact that I have a responsibility is looking after you. That was my job as your sister in the past, and I am sure as hell not dropping it just because this is some new era. It changes nothing."

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry." Eren says hurriedly.

He knows how ridiculously motherly Mikasa can get despite being younger than him. He hates to admit it, but Mikasa is definitely more mature than him in many ways.

"So, where's Horseface? Does he—"

"Yo, titan-asswipe. Hear that you're a Teach' now. Real smooth."

And a familiar blonde head pops over Mikasa's shoulder, arrogant smirk and all.

"—remember." Eren finishes with a scowl. Oh Jean remembers alright, if that shit-eating grin is anything to go by. Eren sighs.

"Well, I was kinda hoping you'd still be clueless, because I would have loved to take your holier-than-thou attitude down a few pegs, seeing that you…" Eren looks Jean up and down as the lanky boy steps out into the open. "…are clearly nothing but a damn _brat_."

And he's not wrong. Jean is half a head shorter than him with youngish looks, like Mikasa, looking like someone fresh out of high school.

Jean scowls and lunges at Eren, tackling him down to the hard concrete.

"Fuck you, jackass! I'm already 20!" Jean shouts, hands grappling at Eren's coat collar.

"Yeah? Well I'm fucking 27, so _this_ is clearly disrespecting your elders, Horseface!" Eren snarls back heatedly. fists shooting at Jean's face, many missing but a few clips the latter's jaw.

"Since when was I big on respect, old man? You're still Eren-titan-Jaeger, the asswipe who couldn't even balance on his stupid 3DMG! Like I give a shit how many years it's been!" Jean retorts

"Get _off_ me, you graceless, equine fuck!"

"Shut up, bastard! Is this how you treat me after _how_ many centuries?"

They tussle for awhile more, rolling like a pair of immature brats on the cold ground, shooting their mouths off, not noticing the growing tick mark on a certain someone's forehead.

"Okay, that's enough."

And with a swift kick, Mikasa manages to catch Jean in the face and Eren in the stomach, making them fall away from each other, tumbling off the veranda into the snow.

"Come inside when you both decide to behave like civilised human beings," Mikasa says nonchalantly, dusting her hands. "You're going to catch colds if you sit out here in the snow, idiots." With that said, she turns around and walks back into the house.

When Eren and Jean manage to drag themselves into a sitting position, spluttering and spitting out bits of bark and snow, they are completely drenched and freezing. Eren glances at Jean as he wipes his lips with the back of his hand, and the other follows suit.

The silence hangs in the air for awhile, broken by Eren's slightly irritated voice.

"If you missed me, you could have just said so, fool." He mutters, looking away awkwardly.

Jean scoffs. "You wouldn't have understood it in words, asshole. Fists is how men talk to each other."

Eren laughs. "That's utter bullshit, Jean. You're just one violent sonofabitch."

"Like you are any better," Jean retorts gruffly, massaging his jaw. "Damn. I think you dislocated my jaw, Jaeger. This is child abuse!"

"Ah, don't be a baby," Eren says, getting to his feet and dusting himself off. "I barely touched you. It's probably just clipped or something."

Eren looks over at Jean. He looks exactly the same, but slightly more built, probably due to the good life here. The Corps didn't really have enough to feed a whole platoon most of the days. Sighing, he moves over to Jean, and proffers a hand in his face.

"C'mon. Get up."

Jean stares at the offered hand for several moments, before a smirk makes it's way to his lips. "Heh. Why does this feel so familiar. It's rather nostalgic."

Eren rolls his eyes. "Probably because I've always beaten you in our sparring matches, Horseface, now are you gonna let me help you or not?"

Jean mutter something that sound like a cross between 'dick' and 'Jeager' before reaching up to grasp Eren's hand. He is easily pulled to his feet by the older man. Jean grumbles lightly as he dusts the snow from his clothes and shivers. They really should go inside.

Eren seems to agree with his silent thought, as the man turns to walk into the house, with Jean following behind. As Jean looks at Eren's broad frame, he can't help but find it really irritating that the guy is very clearly taller than him. It's just so… strange.

Goddammit, it used to be the other way around.

"Ahhh, damn. Alright, I give!"

Eren turns to look at Jean as though he's grown a second head. "What the hell is it now?" Eren asks, brows furrowing, but then Jean slings an arm around his shoulders, making Eren's eyes widen almost comically. It's not like Jean never did this, it's just… it's just been so _long_.

"It's good you see you Jaeger." Jean admits gruffly, and Eren is stunned.

He pats Eren roughly, twice, on the back, giving him a smirk. A smirk that Eren remembers oh so well. He remembers seeing it whenever Jean'd taken down a titan all by himself, or beaten him in a sparring match, or even when he gets a bigger portion of meat after fighting tooth and nail with Eren for it during dinner at the Corps headquarters.

Indeed, it's nostalgic.

Jean's hand slips away as he leaves Eren to enter the house, leaving the older man behind, still staring at his back. Eren tries, and fails to suppress the stupid grin that nearly breaks his face into half, but who can blame him?

"It's good to see you too, Jean."

* * *

><p>Eren has been laughing for a good ten minutes, and he doesn't think he can stop. Apparently, Jean hadn't remembered anything at all prior to meeting Mikasa. The moment he saw her when she walked into the lecture, he claims that everything just hit him like a ton of bricks. But that wasn't the reason why Eren is sitting here, close to spitting his innards out form laughing.<p>

Mikasa is just sitting there, waiting patiently for him to gather his bearings, a cup of tea at her lips; while Jean looks ready to commit mass homicide.

"You—" Eren splutters, his eyes tearing from mirth. "—are an '_Onii-san_'? _Oh God, help me_."

He slams his face into the table, still chortling, completely oblivious to the killing aura intensifying beside him.

"Oh, God'd better help you, dickhead," Jean growls, fingers inching toward the knife lying innocently in the butter dish in front of him. "The fuck is wrong with me being an older brother anyway?! I'll have you know that I am a really good one too!"

"Alright, alright! I digress," Eren says, breathing heavily. "I just never expected, I mean, it's funny how different your life is now. You even have a kid sis—"

Eren stops.

God. Damnit.

_Jesus, how could he have forgotten? _

"Eren?" Mikasa asks, noticing the strange look that creeps over Eren's face. "What's wrong?"

Eren blinks. It's scary how real life could so easily distract him. He turns a tight gaze over at Mikasa, who face twists further with worry.

"Mikasa, you know why I was late coming here?"

Eren pauses and swallows. "Well, I found — Fuck, I can't believe I forgot — I think… no, I know it. I- I found the Corporal."

The way Mikasa and Jean's eyes widen and their mouths unhinge would have been hilarious, a perfect photo of the year, if it wasn't for the sick feeling pooling at the bottom of his gut. He doesn't know how they will react. Eren knows that Corporal Levi isn't exactly one of Mikasa's favourite people, nor is he Jean's, but still, he knows he can't just leave things as they are.

Mikasa is the one who manages to pull herself together first. Her eyes narrow into slits, and her hands clench tightly around her mug of tea. "Huh. So you found the midget. Damn. I was hoping to not run into him at all."

Eren quickly meets her gaze, and glares sharply. "Don't, Mikasa," He pleads. "Not after all this time."

Mikasa scoffs. "How can you still defend him, Eren? After all the shit he put you through? You can't be seriously thinking of going to him?"

"Does he even remember you, Jaeger?" Jean cuts in, also clearly not pleased at the idea. It isn't like he has something against the Corporal personally or anything, but Jean isn't going to deny that Levi was nowhere near being his favourite person. "I mean, how is he doing? If he's living a comfortable life, shouldn't you just leave him alone?"

Eren scowls. "No, he doesn't remember me, and I'm not going to remind him or anything. I'm not going to force him."

"Well, then I see no reason for us to be involved in his business in any way," Mikasa says with a tone of finality. "I don't care about reincarnation or what-not, but I haven't forgiven him for beating you up publicly during your trial."

Eren isn't sure why, but he really wants to throw something at the wall, but he is fucking twenty-seven years old. He's not a hotheaded teenager and he'll be damned if he should act like one.

"That was centuries ago. Literally! Why are you so negative whenever it comes to Corporal Levi?" Eren asks, suddenly feeling incredibly tired. "I wouldn't have lived as long as I did if it weren't for him. if anything, I think he deserves more than gratitude."

Jean barks out a strangled laugh. "Jesus, you and your hero-worship," He says, jaw tight. "Look, Eren, I'm not saying that I hate him. I may not like him, but hell, I respect Corporal Levi. He's one of the toughest people I have ever met, and the influence he had on the higher ups back then? It was a treat to watch those spineless pigs getting their asses handed to them. But I am not going to say I condone the way he treated you, despite you being a dickhead or not. As much as I hate saying it, I don't think he's been very… civil to you in the past."

Eren groans. These teenagers. Honestly!

"Don't you get it? Corporal _isn__'__t_ that kind of person! He was nothing but kind to me! He accepted me for what I was, and believe it or not, but I'd like to think that the only reason I didn't go berserk is probably because of how he trained me to think rationally even in my titan form!"

Realising that there is no way in hell he's getting through to Mikasa or Jean, Eren gives up. "Whatever. Think as you like, but I am not leaving him alone like that. I just— I need to do _something_."

Mikasa sighs. "Why are you so desperate, Eren? Is the midget really doing that badly?"

Eren rests his head in his hands. "Something like that," He admits. "Y'know how all this reincarnation screwed over our ages?"

"Don't remind me." Jean grits.

Eren ignores him. "Well, it fucked up Corporal's age as well," He says numbly. "He's now a four year old kid living in an orphanage."

The way Eren words flipped the atmosphere in the room is remarkable. Mikasa and Jean both look positively gobsmacked.

"Are you serious?" Jean says, tone disbelieving. "Are you telling me, that Humanity's Strongest, he who can bring down a 15 meter titan without breaking a sweat, is now a little brat?"

Eren glares sharply at Jean. "Don't sound so disrespectful, you dick. But in layman's terms, yes. Corporal Levi is a kid, and I don't know what to do. And don't even suggest having me leave him as he is." Eren adds sharply. He can already see the cogs inside Mikasa's head working furiously, and the words "Leave it." at the tip of her tongue.

Eren likes to think he understands Mikasa (to a point), and that is why he has grown to tolerate her dislike toward the Corporal. Despite the respect Mikasa has for him (which is a must since the man practically garnered respect, if not fear, out of everyone in the Legion with his spartan methods of training and disciplining) Eren can tell that Corporal Levi isn't anywhere close to the top in her list of Superiors-Most-Liked. In fact, he may just be at the very bottom.

But this is different. Mikasa isn't going to talk him out of this one. Eren won't let her.

"You didn't see his face." Eren argues. "There something not right. I— I've just never seen him look so…" He thinks back to the too large eyes and the small, pale face and thin body almost swallowed up by the large coat and ratty scarf. "…so defeated before. Christ, he looked so _weak_."

Mikasa looks thoughtful now, the murderous gleam in her eyes lessening. "I feel that this changes things, although I'm not sure what."

Eren wants to pull is hair out. Of course this changes things! He isn't going to just drop this!

"I've got to do something," Eren says again, his brows furrowing. "There was a weird air around him. He was a little off. It was almost like— like he was afraid of me."

Mikasa hums. "How old did he look like? Take a guess."

"Well, I'd say roughly four to five years old," Eren answers, tilting his head in thought. "He looked about the size as some of the younger ones at the kindergarten, but I can't be sure."

Eren recalls the size of the reincarnated Corporal Levi and shudders. It just seems to wrong how someone so powerful can become so…

"That's awfully young." Jean agrees, and Eren is slightly surprised at the concern reflected in Jean's eyes. Well, it looks like being an older brother does have some benefits.

"Well, then it's a given that'd he'd be scared of you," Jean continues. "He's a kid, Jaeger, what do you expect? That, coupled with the fact that he most certainly can't remember you. So bottom line, you are just like any other adult slash creepy stranger on the street to him."

Eren scowls, gaze darkening. "You make me sound like some sick pedophile. I just helped chase away a few bullies ganging up on him, alright? Although I think one of the orphanage's orderlies may have had a rather weird impression of me."

Jean and Mikasa look a little uncomfortable, the only difference being that while Jean's expression reminds Eren of a cross between being constipated and wanting to laugh until he pees his pants; Mikasa appears to be holding herself back from dumping her cup of tea on his head and slapping him senseless.

"You really do want to see him again, don't you?" Mikasa asks, wearily, and suddenly she sounds old — like the Mikasa weighed down by all the deaths, the stress, the battles, and the responsibilities, 2000 years ago.

"Does he mean _that_ much to you?"

Now that's a stupid question.

"Of course," Eren hisses, clearly annoyed. "In fact, I plan on heading down to the orphanage after work to check the place out. It's just several blocks away from my workplace."

Mikasa sighs, and shrugs. "Honestly, I can't really stop you if that's your choice. You _are_ an adult who won't listen. It's like if I tell you not to do something you just have to do it anyway."

Eren raises a brow. He can only suspect that the main reason why Mikasa has suddenly become more flexible is because she now knows that Corporal Levi is a child, so in her book, that meant that he could no nothing to hurt Eren. Still he will never be able to understand why Mikasa so blatantly displays her disdain for the Corporal, even back in the past.

"But why though?" She asks carefully. "He's a _child_."

"That's exactly why I want to keep tabs on him. He's not only a child. He's a damn orphan, Mikasa. I— It's just…" Eren pauses, and grits his teeth painfully. "…so fucking unfair. The Corporal suffered in the past, and now he's without his parents, all alone in this life as well! It's just so _unfair_!"

Jean looks ready to blurt out some philosophical bullshit worthy of getting a fist to the face, like 'life isn't fair' or 'that's life', but he knows that this isn't the moment to prod at Eren. Not when he's so wound up like this.

"At least, after all he did, Corporal Levi should have a good life in this world!"

Jean frowns. "Jeager, don't be daft, you melodramatic idiot. What we all have now _is_ a good life. Compared to before, this is better than anything. Seriously, don't be a fool. Compared to dangling before a bunch of titans, risking my life fighting a losing battle, and watching people getting devoured like fucking _livestock_, this is paradise. Don't you forget it."

And Eren can't really argue with that, because Jean is right in so many ways. For every one of them in the Survey Corps, it is equivalent to them sitting in death row. Every day they return from expeditions with less and less people, and it hurts.

But regardless, Eren is determined to do something, even if he has to fight tooth and nail to do so. He is determined to get to know this Corporal— the Levi of this world who is just too thin and too painfully fragile to look at. This time, Eren promises, clenching his hands, _he_ will be the one to show the Corporal what happiness means.

* * *

><p><strong>Thoughts?<strong>


	2. Encounter

**A/N: Another long chapter. I don't know if people like them long or not, but meh. Anyway, because I'm saving the canon characters for more important roles, a few OCs need to make mini cameos to fill in places that need people to fill in. They don't really matter much to the story, and I won't be focusing on them at all. They just fill the blanks and appear when necessary.**

**Beta-ed by moonspire11 (it was done rather quickly, so there may be a few typos I dunno. My cousin had to go on a camping trip soon after I finished, so the beta-ing was hasty.)**

**Now on with the story!**

* * *

><p>Eren wakes up the next day with the signs of an oncoming migraine, to his too-loud alarm clock screaming just next to his ear.<p>

Slapping his hand down on the device, Eren breathes out a sigh of relief once the ear-shattering wailing subsides, leaving him in complete silence. He lies in bed unmoving for several moments.

He has to think, to plan his move today. Last night with Jean and Mikasa catching up, Eren barely had time to gather his thoughts, let alone structure them into rational order.

Eren isn't stupid. He fully believes that he's a responsible, mature, well organised adult. So it should not be a problem for him to come up with a logical sequence of actions such that he wouldn't become tagged with the label of 'creepy pedo' for the rest of his life.

Of course he'll have to go to work first, because there is only Hanako-sensei running the kindergarten today, and Eren can't help but feel bad if he left her to fend for herself in a building full of laughing, screaming, snot-nosed kiddies.

And really, he has a very valid reason to why he should visit the orphanage. Clearly the orderlies aren't treating the children very well. Eren frowns, remembering how harshly that woman had tugged Levi away the day before. Being a caretaker of children himself, Eren is certain he has every right to demand to know that the children at the orphanage were being treated correctly.

Groaning, Eren struggles to his feet, loose white T-shirt slipping off one tan shoulder, before trudging reluctantly to the bathroom. It is muggy winter mornings like this that really makes him feel like there's absolutely no point in getting up and bracing the biting cold.

He's all washed up and ready, with a slice of toast between his teeth as he slips on a pair of worn sneakers by half past eight. Pulling on his coat, Eren is out the door and grimacing as the chilly wind nips at his face.

Eren usually takes the bus to the kindergarten, but on good days, he'll walk. He is surprised to know that he is rather famous amongst the older citizens and many of the couples with young children in this small town. Even the bus driver seems to know him well, giving Eren a daily greeting of 'Good morning, sensei.' whenever he steps into the vehicle.

"Off to work, sensei? Rather chilly today, don't you think?"

Eren smiles at the old bus driver as he punches his metro ticket. "I suppose so, gramps," Eren replies respectfully. "You should wear more layers. It wouldn't do to catch a cold."

The old bus drives laughs heartily. "Now don't you youngsters worry about an old man like me. I may be old, but I'm resilient!"

Eren laughs as well. This has been his routine for almost 3 years, and Eren doubts it will break any time soon. The peacefulness of this life is something he cherishes, and in no way is he going to mess it up.

He arrives at the kindergarten only to see Hanako-sensei — a plump, middle aged woman with greying hair and a kind smile — ushering a group of children out of the cold and into the warm building.

"Ah, Eren-sensei! Good morning!"

Eren smiles and is about to return the greeting, but at the sound of Eren's name, the mass of children crowding around the entrance of the kindergarten immediately turn to face him.

"EREN-SENSEI!"

Eren's breath is knocked out when an entire gaggle of students fling themselves against him. He can feel his head throbbing from the lack of sleep, and the high-pitched voices of little kids aren't making things any easier.

"Ah… Good morning, everyone," Eren says, smiling brightly despite his foul mood. "Okay, enough pushing now and head on inside before you freeze!"

"Sensei! I went to the amusement park last weekend with my papa, and he took me on the ferris wheel and the cups and…"

"Stop pulling on sensei! He's my homeroom teacher! You go to your own sensei!"

"Yeah! Sensei is ours!"

It is awhile before Eren can successfully usher all the children into the warm schoolhouse. There, he sternly but gently tells them off for fighting, and explains that he belongs to everybody, so they should all share. Although he likes it that children get along with him well, at times it can be tiring, just like today when all he wants to do is to lie down and sleep his migraine away.

"You don't looks very well today, Eren-sensei," Hanako-sensei says, in a mothering tone. "I think you should let me handle your class today and you just have a rest in the break room."

Eren wants to. He really does, but he knows that although Hanako-sensei is capable, she isn't exactly very young, and taking on a whole class of twenty screaming kids is difficult enough. To add his own class of twenty children would be torture!

"Ah, that's fine, I can manage. I just that… I didn't sleep very well."

Hanako-sensei frowns, and reaches up (which is hard seeing that Eren is at least two heads taller than her) and feels Eren's forehead. "You don't feel sick. What's the matter?"

Eren shakes his head as he moves away to pick up the children's scattered coats on the floor. He'll have to mop up the melted snow. Again.

He glances at the wall clock.

_9:00_

"It's just that… I'm rather worried about the orphanage a few blocks away," he says, as lightly as possible. "The people there are rather… well, they might be treating the children unkindly."

To his surprise, Hanako-sensei only nods knowingly. "Ah yes. There has been few of complaints about the place, but it is the only orphanage in miles, so as long as nothing seems wrong on the outside, no one cares. It's a very old and rundown place, and I have tried to get someone to take a look at it, but my son has forbidden me to get involved. There isn't much an old woman can do."

Eren understands. He has met Hanako-sensei's son: a big burly man in a business suit and horn-rimmed spectacles. Hanako-sensei is actually a retired elementary school teacher, who volunteered to work at Eren's kindergarten. Other than her, he has two high-schoolers who helps out on weekends and a college student in Nursing working part time for him on certain days. Other than that, he was alone. Eren knows he is terribly understaffed, but he doesn't really want to simply hire people off the street. He's picky, but that's what makes his place a good kindergarten.

Hanako-sensei's son is single, who has no care for children, and has always been against her working at a kindergarten. He didn't like Eren, and in turn, Eren avoids him like the plague whenever the man comes to pick up Hanako-sensei.

"I'm going down there after work to see the place for myself," Eren says, "If it's bad, I'll have something to say about it."

Hanako-sensei chortles. "You really do love children, don't you, Eren-sensei?"

Eren is about to answer when two children poke their heads into the cloakroom, and upon seeing Eren latches on to his apron and tugs at it.

"Sensei! Help us build a tower!"

"No, sensei is going to help us build a castle!"

Eren sighs, a smile on his face. Really, sometimes kids were just too adorable, even when arguing. "Okay, why don't I help you guys build both? That way we can have a tower and a castle, hmm?"

The way the children's eyes light up with glee never fails to make him feel like he has accomplished the most difficult task in the world, or answered the most difficult question and got it right.

"YES!" they say in unison, and Eren can only laugh as they pull him into one of the many classrooms toward the building blocks.

Even though Eren is occupied with kids yelling for him left right and centre, Eren's mind is still clouded with Levi's fearful face and shaking frame, and all he really wants to do now is just close up school for the day and head over to the orphanage and drag Levi out of there.

He glances at the table clock on one of the small bookshelves.

_9:03_

It's going to be a _long_ day.

* * *

><p>The orphanage is a miserable looking building that looks as though it had been built in the early 90s, the walls of whitewashed boards mottled with moss and grime. The garden is reasonably well-kept, as it should be, Eren thinks. Despite this, he is still appalled at the abysmal state the crumbling building is in. Eren tries to push at the wrought iron gates, and immediately pulls his hand away in disgust at the gritty texture of the bars.<p>

Grimacing at the sight of wet rust coating his palm, Eren pushes the gate open with the tip of his shoe and proceeds to make his way up the snowy drive.

There are small groups of children playing in the snow. Some are building snowmen and others making snow angels. In Eren's perspective, the children look strangely haggard and ridiculously small, and the mere sight of their slight frames tug at his heartstrings.

All eyes lift to stare at Eren as he passes, which involuntarily makes him shiver. What the hell is up with these kids? They all look so… unsure of what to do. The mood hovering around the groups of children is uncomfortably dark and bleak, a stark contrast to the light and cheery atmosphere at his kindergarten.

The veranda of the building is of wood, dappled with patches of lichen, tangles of vines and colonies of mushrooms, mould, and moss had already taken root and eaten through the rotting bark. Eren winces. Well, this just can't possibly be hygienic. His expectations of the orphanage are plunging faster than a crashing plane, and Eren makes a mental note of possible danger as he steps onto the first wooden step that creaks horribly under his weight.

There is a skinny women standing by the main door with her greying hair pulled tightly into a prim bun at the top of her head. Her eyes narrow like a snake's as Eren approaches her, looking slightly uncertain.

"Excuse me, I was wondering if I could possibly speak to the Matron of this place please?" Eren asks, twisting his hands into the pockets of his coat.

The woman scrutinises him with a thin, simpering smile that reminds him horribly of the evil witches in little kids' storybooks.

"You are looking at her, young man," says the woman, in a cold, flat drawl. "What can I do for you today? Looking to adopt are we?"

Eren has to suppress himself from cringing as the stale breath of the Matron almost bleaches the front of his hair, the stank reminding him strongly of week old clothes and unwashed hair.

"Er, no. Sorry, but I was hoping that I could — how do I put this — have a little chat with one of the children here. Er… Wait, that didn't come out right. I mean—"

Eren decides to shut up right then and there upon realising how ridiculously suspicious he is making himself out to be. God, why can't this be easier?

The Matron's eyes him carefully, taking in his slightly dishevelled appearance: his mussy hair, and flushed cheeks. She seems to be trying to make out who he really is.

"What do you want with this child sir? I'm afraid that it is against the orphanage's policy to simply allow strange men to waltz in, wanting to… 'chat', with a child. We take the safety of the children here very seriously you know."

Of all the nerve.

Eren has to stop himself from scowling, because if this hypocritical bitch can stand here, shooting her mouth off about safety, then she can very well do something about this crumbling veranda before it caves!

_We take the safety of the children here very seriously._

What utter bullshit.

"Erm, you misunderstand," Eren tries again, schooling his expression into a goofy grin, "My name is Eren Jaeger, and I run a kindergarten a few blocks away. Yesterday I noticed one of your children — a small kid — getting bullied at the park, so I was wondering if he's doing all right?"

The Matron's expression doesn't change, but Eren can suddenly sense her dislike for him intensify. The thin smile on her lips twists into an crooked smirk, showing rows of yellowing teeth, and she chuckles softly, "Ah yes, _that_ kindergarten. Yes, yes. I know now. I was wondering why you seemed familiar. Now then, what brings someone like you here?"

Eren can't help but want to squirm at the disdain in her voice. Did he perhaps step on a land mine or something? If anything, she seems to abhor the mere sight of him now, and the way she had responded to his name…

Eren shivers.

Not good.

"You say one of our children was being bullied during the park trip? Who?" asks the Matron, crossing her arms and looking at Eren as though he is something unpleasant stuck to the underside of her shoe.

Well, he most certainly can't let her realise that he knows Levi's name.

"Er… It's a boy. He's pretty small kid, with an undercut and greyish eyes—"

The Matron suddenly holds up a hand to his face, her expression cold, "You can stop there. I already know who you are referring to." she purses her thin lips, making them disappear into a single line. "You don't have to worry about him. He is perfectly fine. The boy should be used to it after all. It's just simple teasing. Children do it all the time."

Eren can hardly believe what he is hearing, and it takes everything to stop himself from wanting o shake this woman in front of him silly. Is this old bat for real? What the hell did she mean by '_The boy should used to this_'? Does this mean that Levi had been bullied before?

Teasing. She called it '_teasing_', for fuck's sake. What this hag just said… She may as well be admitting to the fact that no one in this godforsaken place tried to stop the bullying at all! Actually scratch that, she admitted it in purpose.

Eren can barely keep the disgust from his gaze. This bitch isn't sorry in the least! She doesn't give a rat's ass about the children's wellbeing at all!

He has to take a deep breath and remind himself that regardless of however horrible this person is he cannot just punch old women, even though he really, _really_, wants to at the moment.

"That's all well, but," Eren begins, his voice tight with restraint, "I would very much appreciate it if I could just see him for myself, please. A few minutes will do."

The Matron looks ready to argue, but Eren angrily thrusts his ID card at her, which indicates that he is a qualified childcare worker, listing his current workplace, contact number, and home address. "This should be proof enough that I am not some 'strange man', Ma'am," he grits out. "I genuinely care for children, and I would like to see the boy please. _Right_. _Now_."

Eren watches in satisfaction as the woman's skinny face flushes a bright red in anger, having been one-upped by him. But he knows that he has her cornered, For the moment. Should she deny him now, Eren might think there was something going. It is obvious that Eren really dislikes her, and really, what harm can possibly come from letting him see the boy? After that, she'll ban this meddling bastard from the orphanage for good.

"Fine then," says the Matron, her expression quickly reverting back to normal. "If you want to see him so bad."

Eren blinks. He got his way. Good.

"Follow me."

The Matron turns away from him and pulls open the front door of the building, and Eren steps inside after her, but not before stomping the snow and dirt from his soggy sneakers.

Upon entering the quiet building Eren is appalled to see how poorly kept the interior is. The walls are mouldy and there are massive cracks in the plaster and ceiling panels. The hallways are freezing and also smelled strongly of old carpet and mildew, and Eren is glad that he wore his shoes in.

The Matorn leads him to one of the many doors that line the hallway, that had crayon marks and scratches on the lower half of the wood. Eren notes that many of the childish scrawls spelt out: KItCheAN, and FoOd ROoM, in large loopy letters.

The Matron pushes open the door a crack and Eren peers into a large room with a long wooden table in the centre. There are long benches pushed up against it, and plates of unfinished food scattered messily on the top. In a corner, sat Levi on a small stool, staring blankly out the window.

Eren feels his heart clench at the sight of the child's hunched shoulders and gaunt face. Levi is dressed in a long-sleeved sweater and track pants that are too big for his small stature, which just cannot be comfortable for the small boy.

"You can have ten minutes with him, and even so, I highly doubt you can get anything out of the boy," says the Matron, her tone dismissive. "You could say he's quite the weird kid. He just sits there and stares out the window most of the days. I am not surprised the other children like to tease him."

Eren wants to knock some sense into her and scream into that ugly mug that there is a fine line between teasing and bullying, and it is clear that in Levi's case, it had been crossed ages ago. "How long has he been here?" he asks, deliberately not looking at the old woman. He might just lose control and strangle her, just like how he's doing in his mind.

"Four months," says the Matron, huffing lightly. "We found him dumped at the doorstep with nothing but a bag of clothes."

Eren swallows tightly. Did that mean that Levi wasn't… wanted? No, it just sounds completely wrong. "You don't know that," Eren says quietly. "Was there any evidence that he could have been… _dumped_? He could have just—"

"Oh, he was dumped alright," the Matron interrupts, her face twisting into a hideous grimace. "Mother didn't want the kid so the tramp thought she could just toss him here with us. Like we don't have enough mouths to feed already."

"You don't know that." Eren says stubbornly. He doesn't want to believe it. Anything is better than this. At least if Levi's parents are dead, that means that he has no choice. But to be thrown away like yesterday's garbage by your own mother nonetheless? That's just pure evil.

"He wasn't found with a note or anything, but we did find him roped to the outside gate by the wrist. Now if you tell me that isn't a clean message that the mother really didn't want the runt to run back after her, you are too naive, Eren-_sensei_."

Eren can feel his heart grind to a stop.

_What?_

"A-are you telling me… his _mother,_ _**tied**_ him to the gate so he wouldn't follow her back?" Eren whispers, his throat constricting.

The Matron merely scoffs before turning away, and there is no trace of sympathy when she speaks again, "He is lucky that we took him in. We could have thrown him out no problem, so the kid ought to be grateful. Now you'd better hurry up and talk to him if you want, because ten minutes isn't exactly a lot of time."

Eren waits until the Matron is completely out of earshot before taking a deep breath and willing himself to push open the room. Compared to the chilly hallways, this room is slightly warmer, and Eren spots a crackling fire burning in the dirty, soot covered fireplace. Now that just can't be safe at all. He make a mental note to tell the Matron that she should seriously clean the place up.

Levi doesn't turn around, and Eren isn't sure how he should approach the boy. The dusty carpet muffles his footsteps as he walks toward the small figure, still staring glumly out the frosted window. Eren tries to be quiet, but as he puts another foot down, a sharp squeak shatters the fragile silence, and Eren watches as Levi leaps to his feet violently, and twists around, back slamming against the window.

The boy's eyes are wide and he is breathing rapidly, eyes scanning the room hastily and quickly spotting Eren's prone figure stopped in mid-step. Eren feels his insides twist horribly at the fear in Levi's eyes, which are wide and wild-looking. He is pressed tightly against the window as through trying to disappear into it, and his arms are held in a defensive stance, body taut and tight like a coiled spring. All in all, Levi looks like a cornered puppy waiting for the best moment to bolt.

"I'm not going to hurt you." Eren says softly, gently. He knows he can't take another step toward Levi. That will end very badly indeed, especially seeing how terrified he is. Eren has handled his fair share of antsy children, those whose parents were always fighting, or those who were punished more often than not, but Levi is by fair the worst of the lot. He is the most delicate looking child Eren has ever seen, and he knows from experience, that one wrong move could send Levi running. Now, he needs Levi to trust him enough to come to him, not the other way around.

Eren then slowly squats down by the dining table, a gentle smile on his lips. "It's okay," he says, "I just want to talk to you."

Levi looks bewildered; as though he doesn't know what to do. Eren wonders if this is the first time someone had spoken gently to him. He tries again, "Do you think you could come closer? No? Well, over there is fine then. I just want to talk. I'm not going to hurt you, Levi."

Levi flinches when Eren says his name, and the storm whirling in those slate-grey eyes intensify. Eren can almost see the swirl of confusion on Levi's face. It is as though he is trying to establish if Eren really _is_ not going to hurt him. Eren watches as Levi just stands there, his eyes staring straight at Eren.

Eren smiles softly. If everything goes well, he might just be able to get Levi to let down that watertight guard, and perhaps just open up a little bit, enough for him to be sure that the child really is being treated badly in the place, then perhaps he could somehow shut this hellhole down for good, and get Levi out.

The confusion and panic scribbled across Levi's pale face slowly disappears, replaced by one of apathy. Somehow, it just resembles the Corporal so much that Eren's throat tightens. Then, a scowl appears of Levi's face; one so fierce, so violent, and demonic even, that it just shouldn't be present on a child. Eren can only blink in shock at the waves of hostility emanating from Levi.

"I _detest_ you."

It is awhile before Eren's brain registers that it is Levi that spoke. His voice isn't the deep baritone of the Corporal, but slightly higher and more child-like, although no-one can possibly miss the venom lacing those words.

"'_Come here_', '_I'm not going to hurt you_'," spits Levi harshly, completely mocking Eren. "What _bullshit_. I'm not a dog. So don't think I will listen to the likes of you, you clown."

To say that Eren is shocked is an understatement. He is completely stupefied. Although he has seen many children yell back at adults, Levi really does take then cake. He can't be more than four years old, and did he just curse? Where is all this colourful language coming from? Instead of deterring Eren, this just makes him want to find out more. It looks like Levi really is worse than he initially thought.

Eren doesn't know what to say to this. Should he tell Levi off? Should he just push on perhaps? In the end, Eren decides on the latter option.

"Levi, I'm—"

"Who gave you the right to call me so familiarly?" Levi hisses, his jaw tight.

Eren pauses, thinking. "Then what would you like me to call you?"

Levi grits his teeth, and Eren watches as tiny hands clench into fists. "You call me nothing. The sight of you sickens me. Get _out_."

Eren's brows pull together. Instead of getting angry, he is getting more and more upset at the sight before him. Not upset at Levi's behaviour, no; but at the thought of what he must have gone through to turn him into this.

"Please, Le— I mean — never mind, I'll just say it straight out. Are there people hurting you here?" Eren asks, upon realising that the roundabout way isn't going to work on a child as untrusting and scared as Levi.

The violent gleam in Levi's eyes quickly vanishes, replaced by a spark of fear and shock. He looks at Eren confusedly again. Suddenly, the small frame trembles, and Eren can see the cracks showing. Despite this strong front, Eren is not surprised at how easy it is to break it. It may be cruel now, but he needs to push on.

"Are there people hurting you here, Levi?" Eren asks again, and this time Levi doesn't yell at him for using him name, in fact, the child is now backing away from Eren.

"I really do want to help you Levi, but you need to tell me if there are people hurting you."

Eren gets to his feet slowly as Levi scrambles away backwards, tripping over a toy car and falling on his back. Eren winces, but he needs to be quick. He'll have heaps of time to comfort Levi after he shuts down this hovel.

"Are the children here hurting you? Bullying you?" Eren asks, his tone bordering demanding. Levi just trembles, eyes wide and scared, staring up at Eren's form, which to him, must be gigantic in comparison.

"What about the adults?"

Now Levi just freezes up, and Eren can see reluctant tears welling up in those wide eyes. If that isn't answer enough, Eren doesn't know what is. He is about to ask another question before Levi decides to close up again, and he feels a hand on his shoulder. Upon turning around, finds himself face to face with the thin-lipped Matron, whose look sends a shiver of fear up his spine.

"I think that's quite enough, Eren-sensei." she says, her voice crisp and cold.

"Levi," the Matron looks down at the shivering boy, who immediately clams up, the dead look that perturbed Eren so much smoothing over the panic in his features. "Get up and go wash up. Dinner is in half an hour."

Levi doesn't scowl, nor does he fly into a rage like he did with Eren. Instead, he just gets to his feet, dusts his pants and walks past Eren and out of the dining room without so much as a glance back.

The Matron rounds on Eren with cold fury blazing in her eyes. Eren isn't stupid to not know that she must have heard every question he asked in the final minutes of his and Levi's conversation. Well, at least he doesn't have to pretend anymore. He watches the fuming woman with a level gaze, his expression betraying nothing of the storm of anger brewing beneath.

"Ten minutes is up," the Matron says, "Now, please kindly show your way out, Eren-sensei, and do not show your face in this place again."

Eren scoffs. He doesn't need to hold back now that the woman knows. "You are unfit to be caring for these children," he says, tone mercilessly sharp. "I don't need a professional to know that Levi has been abused and bullied frequently during his time here. Furthermore, this place is crumbling and old. The floor is mouldy and there is no proper heating system set up. All in all, this orphanage is unsanitary, hazardous, and unsuitable for children."

The thin woman before him looks as though she wants to hit him, if her trembling frame is anything to go by.

"I suggest you leave. _Now_," the Matron snarls, "Before I get someone to call the police about a certain pervert stalking up to orphanages and 'chatting' with random kids."

Eren laughs, and it is not kind. When he glares at the Matron, he looks angry enough to commit murder. This sudden change from a caring teacher to this ruthless looking person makes the Matron flinch slightly in surprise.

"Oh, I'll leave," Eren says, the murderous light not leaving his eyes. "But don't you even think this is over."

With that, the anger in his features melts away to be replaced with his normal, everyday smile as he heads past the surprised Matron to the door. "Well then, good day to you."

The Matron gasps angrily. "W-Was that a threat? You uncouth rat!"

Eren shakes his head, expression stern, and there is resolve in the way his shoulders are set and his eyes never lave the Matron's furious face.

"No," he says, shaking his head. "It's a _promise_."

And Eren leaves with another word. As he walks down the cold drive, had he turned around, he would have noticed a small figure watching him forlornly from the second floor window.

* * *

><p>"I'm telling you Jean, he completely blew up at me. I mean, I expected him to not trust me, but he's a four-year-old for fuck's sake! What four-year-old understands the word 'bullshit' enough to use it in a sentence?"<p>

Jean's braying laugher over the earpiece makes Eren want to slam the phone back into it's cradle. He wonders if calling this asshole is a good idea after all. Well, Mikasa will most likely murder him for calling her right now (she has extra classes), so Jean is really the only one he can vent to.

"_Ergo, mini-corporal acted like a little prick_."

Eren groans and buries his face into his free hand. "You're completely missing the point."

More laughter.

"Laugh again, and I will come over and eviscera—"

"_Sorry, sorry,_" says Jean, coughing sharply to smother the last of his chortles. "_So, back to the point. What do you plan on doing?_"

Eren bites his lip hard, brows furrowing. "Naturally, I need to get Levi the hell out of there, but I also want to shut the place down. Social Services will be more than happy to find proper homes for the kids, but—" Eren pauses, "—the problem is me becoming Levi's legal guardian."

Jean hums over the phone thoughtfully. "_From what you've told me, clearly the place is one screwed up shithole. It's not gonna be that hard to get them out of business._"

Eren snorts. "I know, but the Matron is already on to me. The hag threatened to sic the cops on my ass, saying I'm some pedophile. I know I have a pretty good chance of getting that accusation off my back, but I run a damn kindergarten. Even if it's not true, you know what rumours like that can do to people who work with children. And rumours do tend to _fly_ in these small towns. The last thing I need is for parents to start suspecting nonsense."

"_Ooh, never thought of that,_" Jean says, wincing internally, "_Man, a rumour like that could __**ruin**__ you._"

Eren rolls his eyes. "Why do you think I'm not marching up there right now with a damn building inspector and Social Services, horseface? I don't want to have anything I do backfire, and I don't want to do things halfway. If I'm going to put a stop to this, I'm going to friggin' _bury_ them."

There is a momentary silence over the phone.

"_Y'know? Suddenly I'm seeing the titan you going ballistic and squishing those people in the orphanage to death_." Jean shudders.

"_Not exactly a pretty sight, or though for that matter._"

"That's an idea," Eren laughs tightly. "But Jean, in all seriousness, I will need a lawyer to win this, and I'd need a damn good one too. I don't want all this to be taken to court, because that is just too much hassle. It needs to be quick and clean with no loose ends."

Jean doesn't answer straight away. "_Well…_" he says carefully, "_Then do you know any good lawyers?_"

"That's something else I need your help with. I mean, yeah, I do know someone, a sorta 'friend', but 'not-a-friend' kinda guy, but—"

"_Is he any good?_"

Eren barks out a derisive laugh. "Good?" Eren snorts, "He's a heartless bastard who dismantles people's lives for money and the asshole _enjoys_ doing it. He's not just 'good'; he's a fucking shark."

Jean doesn't know where this is going now. "_So? What the hell's the problem then? Are you sure you didn't knock your head while wanking off? Because that would have scrambled whatever little brain cells you have left._"

"That comment should be aimed at you, horseface," Eren snaps, "And have you not been listening? The guy is one sadistic asshole, and if I did ask for his help, I'd be owing him one, and believe me, I do not want to own him one."

Jean shrugs even though Eren can't see it. "_It's for a good cause,_" Jean says simply. "_I mean, how bad could it be?_"

"The last time we played poker and I lost, he bet me to show up to work with those floppy clown-shoes for a week. I said no, so the dick let the air out of Mikasa's motorcycle and stuck the blame on me."

"_Oh. That's good. He actually pinned it on you?_"

"And because he's a _lawyer_, dammit, he managed to argue his way out of it without breaking a sweat, playing innocent and escaping without a scratch, and by the time Mikasa found out it wasn't me, I had already reached the end of my washing-the-toilet-for-a-year punishment."

Jean pauses.

"_This guy __**is**__ good. Hire the ass._"

Eren groans. "I was hoping you could refer me to someone else."

Jean laughs derisively. "_Eren, you want to win right?_"

"Yes?"

"_Then just hire the damn guy. Now, I've got to go pick my sister up from piano class, so just sit tight, don't get your panties into a twist, grow a pair of balls, and call him._"

Jean doesn't wait for Eren to answer before slamming the phone down and ending the call.

Eren sits on his ratty couch in the dark, listening to the dial tone for awhile before slipping the phone back into it's cradle, contemplating on the options present before him. To say that he is pissed at the Matron (all the adults) at the orphanage is an understatement. Eren is angry beyond reason now, and he honestly doesn't care if he ruins their lives.

In particular, the hag. How _dare_ she. He is tempted, so very tempted to just whip up the phone and call Social Services and get everything done and dusted. But Eren's rational sense is telling him to not rush in head first, but to plan his moves carefully before going for the kill.

It is excruciatingly difficult, because Eren can only imagine what is happing to Levi while he is just sitting here thinking too much into everything.

Calm.

He needs to be calm.

A wrong move and he may never get to see Levi again, which is just out of the option. He's already banned from the orphanage, so technically, he need to un-ban himself, and the only way to do it is to get a certain asshole lawyer to start prepping for the day he can finally put the last nail in the Matron's soon to be coffin and shut the hag down for good.

Levi is top priority after all. And for the Corporal, Eren will do anything, and it is more out of family-love, respect, and gratitude more than anything else. The Corporal had been a friend and parent-figure in Eren's past life, so now, it is his turn to return the favour. It is time to pull out the big guns, consequences be damned.

Eren then snatches up the phone once again and jabs in a number from memory, praying that the person picks up. "'Uncouth rat' now, am I? I'll show you…"

He is soon greeted by the soft voice of a woman, who beings to introduce herself, but Eren cuts her off swiftly.

"Hey, Hitch, how are you doing?" Eren says without pausing, "Put the asshole on the phone please. It's important."

"_Ah, Mister Jaeger. I see you're still doing well,_" the woman, Hitch, replies, her soft tone dissolving into one of amusement. "_Of course. I'll patch you through._"

Eren hates the annoying on hold music that plays into his ear, and suspects that the asshole must have purposely chosen Eren's most hated music to use just to spite him. It's awhile before the music stops and a smooth baritone drifts through the earpiece.

"_What the hell do you want?_"

Eren smirks. Just like him to be rude to everybody. Eren knows that this is how he speaks to all his clients, and wonders how he can be so damn rude and still be so successful.

"Yo, Kiara. It's me—"

"_I know it's you Jaeger,_" snaps the voice. "_And didn't I say before, to not use my first name when you talk to me?_"

God, Eren cannot understand what makes women throw themselves at this tyrant's feet. He can be rude and brash all he likes and everybody just chalks it up to him being adorable in a bratty way. What blindness. He is a damn hellion who like watching people squirm beneath his feet.

"_You here to invite me for another poker game? This time, I wager we—_"

"No. Never again, fuckface."

Kiara sighs dramatically. "_Then to what to I have the honour of you calling me up out of the blue? Miss me?_"

"Shut up. I have a job for you."

That shuts the man up immediately, and when he speaks again, his tone is all business and completely professional.

"_Really? What is it? For you to willingly ask me for something, it must be important._"

"It is."

Eren can hear the sounds of paper being shuffled around and the click of a pen, and he is thankful that Kiara knows when to jerk around and when to act like the proper businessman he is.

"_Talk._"

* * *

><p>Eren spends at least two hours with Kiara on the phone, and when he is done, Eren can already see Levi being freed from the hellhole he is currently trapped in.<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Next chapter: Skin Deep (I will only post spoilers in , not Ao3)<strong>

**"Alone you say? Letting a four-year-old fend for himself... Now we aren't getting on to a good start, are we?"**

**Do drop a review on your way out :) Thankies 3**


	3. Skin Deep

**A/N: Just saying, I know squat about the legal system, so I probably messed a few things up here (I was going to research it, but hey, I just got off exams, so give me a break 3). I tried to reduce the lawyer scenes because I don't know what I'm talking about. Sorry for the OC again, but I do need the lawyer role filled to make sure that everything is as realistic as possible. Also this chapter was rather hard to write. There is a problem with the flow and child Levi is really difficult to get in character, so I hope I didn't botch him up.**

**And thank you all for the wonderful reviews. They really do encourage me to write more, so thank you for them!**

**On with the story!**

**Beta: moonspire66**

* * *

><p>Eren learns, that dabbling with an issue involving people who spend half their lifetime playing with the lives of others and toying with their emotions, comes with dire consequences.<p>

It's like playing a chess game with an opponent that can foresee your next move, and Eren doesn't know if getting a lawyer who, seems to make it his life goal to piss people off, was a good idea at all.

Regardless, Eren isn't going to deny that Kiara is very thorough, despite the fact that he doesn't seem to understand the simple concept of privacy and personal space. Several days following his phone call with Kiara, Eren had returned home from work to find his front door (previously locked and bolted mind you) wide open, and there, sprawled on the couch like he owned the damn place was a completely wasted Kiara in his goddamned birthday suit.

Suffice to say, Eren didn't think that he could ever un-see that traumatising display burned into his corneas.

After a good half hour of yelling, screaming, and wrestling the dead drunk lawyer into a pair of sweats and a hoodie and trying not to touch skin, Eren had managed to get the man to look decent enough for a proper conversation.

Even being drunk out of his mind, Kiara was able to spread the papers he brought with him over the low coffee table without throwing up on them. Kiara slurred as he explained the terms and conditions, and how they could very easily win this, seeing that the orphanage was close to going bankrupt and already had their fair share of complaints. Kiara showed Eren floor plans and pictures of the orphanage, pointing out the obvious safety and health hazards present, and how that could help them win the argument. Eren had to admit that Kiara was good. Many of the pictures taken were good quality in spite of being at awkward angles.

Eren was worried that they wouldn't hold up in court, but then again, hadn't he decided that he didn't want to take this issue to court?

Kiara made sure to reassure him, showing him the many transcripts of formal complaints made by other people in the past. The lawyer had also dug deep. _Very_ deep, and very possibly using illegal methods (not that Eren is surprised), and found rather disturbing secrets well hidden behind the mouldy walls of the orphanage.

Apparently, the orphanage had a very long history of abuse and neglect for the children going all the way back to the late 90s. Kiara had also checked up on all the orderlies, especially the Matron, digging up past crimes, no matter how insignificant, and complied a wealth of information ranging from every teenage misdemeanour to more serious issues such as infidelity, violent conduct, and anger management problems.

Eren had been surprised that people with a rap sheet as ridiculous as this group were allowed to run an orphanage. The mere thought of such atrocities around kids just made him combust.

Kiara had most definitely left no stone unturned and no area uncovered. So Eren decided to forgive Kiara when the man had fallen into a drunken sleep on his couch that night.

Now, Eren wonders if he should have just smothered the man in his sleep, because he is currently sitting in the waiting area of Kiara's office with a permanent twitch in his leg from waiting for the ass for over an hour.

Kiara had called him to meet him here, and the holier-than-thou little turd just decides to make him wait? Eren glances angrily at the grand clock with its sterling silver hands and golden numbers above a large wall of listed employees and partners. He had left the kindergarten halfway through an arts and crafts session with the five-year-olds, and they were extremely upset because of it. Since Kiara called him over, there had better be a good reason, like producing some useful information that can help win Levi's case, if not, god help the four-eyed-midget…

Glancing around, Eren realises that this is his first time at Kiara's workspace, which isn't really a big deal because he never had the reason to visit in the first place. He met Kiara by chance at his kindergarten when the man had come to pick up his niece. The two of them hit it off just like how he and Jean had 'hit it off' the first time they met at the cadet barracks.

They would normally meet up for coffee or poker at Eren's apartment, Mikasa's house, or Kiara's own (god-fracking-dammit) mansion of a rooftop penthouse in the city. Looking around, Eren has to agree that Kiara, despite being a royal douche, does have really good tastes and a flair for design. Everything around him screamed money and power, something that Kiara just lusts for. Trailing a finger along the smooth surface of a rich mahogany table next to him, Eren thinks that Kiara really has no qualms on spending millions just to be perfect, because everything is this waiting room must have cost a friggin' fortune.

His eyes then drift from the magnificent floating aquarium holding a multitude of saltwater fish, to the tinted wall to ceiling windows overlooking the CBD, then to the elegant raised lettering above the oblong desk where the receptionist (Hitch), sat. Eren initially realises that the lettering has a very sophisticated font, again, he admits that Kiara has a pretty good eye for things, and then he proceeds to read the words. It is just three words, but as Eren's eyes rove over the lettering, and he reads it aloud in his mind, his entire world grinds to a stop.

Is he brain-dead from boredom or are his nerves completely fried from holding Kiara's hair back last night as the so called lawyer hurled his guts out in Eren's cramped toilet, because this can't really be what he is reading.

Eren sits up straighter and his eye narrow. He reads the words again.

Then once more.

And then again, this time slower, because _that_ can't be correct. He would have known. He should have known — for _fuck's_ sake — he's been Kiara's friend for over 2 years, and in all that time, how could he not have noticed _this_?

Narukami/Leonhardt and Partners

_Leonhardt_.

Eren has to dig his nails deep into the fabric of his jeans and force himself to not hyperventilate. Calm. He needs to stay calm. There are plenty of people with the surname Leonhardt. Annie isn't the only one. So there's really no need to—

It is a sudden flashback, and Eren can see a tall, blond, female titan who just won't stay down regardless of how hard he punches and punches and bites and tears at the stringy tendons but — goddammit — she just _won't_ stay down and—

"Oi, Jaeger. You look like you're gonna pass out. Don't do that over my premium leather seats won't you?"

And just like that Eren can breathe again. It's difficult to focus, but he eventually makes out the sharp angles of Kiara's scowling mug, which is more than enough to rip him away from unnecessary past memories. Eren knows it's a complete lie if he says he has forgiven Annie for her betrayal. Regardless of how many thousand years it has been, Eren isn't sure he can ever forgive her, and that included Bertolt and Reiner as well. Mikasa never mentioned them in her list of people to search for. Then again, Corporal Levi never made Mikasa's list as well, even though Squad Leader Hange did (Eren is surprised).

Kiara snaps a pair of well manicured fingers in front of Eren, which has the latter swatting the annoying hand away, irritated. Shaking himself out of whatever mini-coma he was in, Eren rounds on Kiara, now very pissed off.

"Took you long enough," Eren says, scowling, "What the hell d'you want me for?"

Despite being a head shorter than him, Kiara is still able too shoot Eren a look as though he were an immature brat wailing for attention, "Who the hell pissed in your breakfast, Jaeger?" Kiara scoffs, eyeing Eren with his usual haughty glare, "You don't have to sound like such a dick. I called you over because I've gathered enough to shut that orphanage down for good. You did tell me you wanted to adopt one of the kids there, right? Well, we are going down there now and settling this bullshit once and for all."

Eren blinks, and all thoughts about Kiara possibly working with Annie's reincarnation flies out the window. Levi is priority. Everything else can jolly well wait.

"Really? You mean, I can just go down there and pick him up and that's it?" Eren asks, eyes widening, "But what about all the legal stuff that needs settling and such?"

Kiara scowls, "'The hell do you think I am?" he snaps, clearly insulted, "All that has already been settled. I've called Social Services and I've spoken to the authorities. They will send someone down along with a lieutenant down to help as well. All you need to do is sign some stuff and go for a few interviews, but that is done over time."

If Kiara wasn't the egotistical bastard he is, Eren will have kissed him a thousand times over.

"I would ask if I could hug you right now, but I don't really go for short, four-eyed narcissists."

Eren has to duck and sprint out of the waiting room as a wooden paperweight sails over his head and embeds itself into the wall by the elevators. Well, at least Kiara's rich.

Eren doesn't think twice about the name Leonhardt, and honestly he neither cares nor wants to associate himself with Annie at the moment. He knows there will come a day when he can truly, truly forgive Annie, but until that day comes, it looks like he'll just have to wait and see.

* * *

><p>Eren feels like goddamn King Kong as he stalks (almost struts) up to the familiar wrought iron gates crusted with rust and scum. He knows it's highly immature to feel like he's getting back at the scrawny Matron for screwing with him, but hey, he can afford to bask in revenge just for a little bit now can't he?<p>

Kiara has his prissy black spectacles perched high up the bridge of his nose, and the expression on his face borderlines ecstatic at the mere anticipation of getting to tear down another person's life, and in this case Eren can't really be bothered to ask him to be nice. Screw holding back. If Kiara doesn't hit this case as hard as it is humanly possible, Eren will probably dangle the man by his ankles from the ceiling and beat him to death with Mikasa's baseball bat.

Eren practically yanks open the gate and trudges up the snowy drive without preamble. There are no children outside today, but Eren can see tiny faces being pressed against windows, puffs of breath blurring the frosty glass.

He can see confusion and excitement in those childish features, and he suddenly feel nauseous. Swallowing hard, Eren tries to focus on breathing lest he pass out. Now that won't do. Behind him, he hears the Social Service representative tutting and gasping at the appalling conditions of the orphanage. Kiara nudges his side, and Eren glances down at the shorter man.

"Let me handle shit, okay?" Kiara says lowly, his tone serious, "I know your temper. If you fly into one of your rages and do something stupid, we automatically lose this case and you get arrested for violent behaviour."

Eren raises a brow. Since when was Kiara big on proper conduct? Nevertheless, he scowls and walks away, hands curling into fists in his coat pockets.

"I know." Eren hisses, mood plummeting, "I don't need you to remind me, okay? But if I see so much as a scratch on Levi—"

Kiara rushes forward and grips tightly onto Eren'd forearm, green eyes blazing in frustration as he snaps in a tight voice, "This. _This_ is what I mean, Jaeger," Kiara gestures at Eren's rigid posture and hostile expression. He sighs before continuing, "Look, I want to win this for you, but for God's sake, you have to just chill, alright?"

"I'm _fine,_" Eren bites out, "I didn't smash that old hag's face in the last time I saw her, and I sure as hell won't do it now."

"Jaeger, I trust you just about as far I can throw you. I suggest you shut the fuck up and let me talk. All you have to do is stand there and look pretty."

And Kiara brushes past a fuming Eren to knock on the rotting double doors of the building. Eren has to take several deep breaths before he can see past the red haze that clouds his vision. He isn't sure why he's feeling this angry now of all times. He had been able to reign in his fury the last visit, so why now? He supposes that it is because the reality of what Levi is being put through is truly sinking in at the moment. Coupled with the fact that he didn't really have a very good start to the day, what with the Leonhardt name popping out and now this. Eren's isn't in the best of moods to take shit from anybody.

At the third knock, a familiar looking woman emerges, her hair still in its tight bun and her eyes still as snake-like as ever. Her gaze passes over Kiara's head and zooms in on Eren who is a little ways behind, before catching sight of the police and Social Service representative approaching the veranda. Immediately, the woman lashes out, her bony hand just missing Kiara's face.

"_You_," she snarls, jabbing a finger at Eren, "I specifically said to not show your imbecilic face here ever again—"

"I suggest you do not address my client so crassly," Kiara interrupts smoothly, his crisp tone slicing through the woman's ranting like a knife, "Please speak to me if you wish to talk to Mister Jaeger."

The woman, whom Eren recognises as the hag of a Matron, glares down at Kiara, whose returning gaze is so clod that she falters slightly before speaking.

"What is all this? Client? What is going on? Why are you people trespassing? Get out!"

From where Eren stands, he can see spit flying from the Matron's flapping mouth, and he wonders just how Kiara is going to deal with her. At the sight of the shorter man's green eyes turn a shade darker, Eren knows that the woman is as good as dead.

"Trespassing?" Kiara repeats, his tone polite yet mocking at the same time, "You are mistaken, _Madam._ We are here to have your orphanage shut down upon the evidence of child abuse and neglect that has been brought to light by Mister Jaeger here. I am merely sticking around to make sure that I bury you along with this shithole you call a home for children, you miserable old bat."

Eren balks at Kiara's choice of words. It really isn't professional, not to mention rude to insult someone, and the idiot's a lawyer. But Kiara doesn't seem to give a crack at what he says. Then again, having connections with big shots and people way up the food chain really does have its perks, and Kiara isn't afraid to use them.

"W-What?" Says the Matron, her tone uncertain now.

Oh.

_Oh_.

Finally there is fear in that hateful voice. Eren wants to smile, but that isn't very mature, so he holds back. Kiara pulls out a sheet of paper from his folder, and Eren is too bust scanning for Levi's face amongst the sea of children watching him curiously from the windows to care.

Eren barely registers Kiara's hand yanking him indoors, nor does he notice the Social Service representative lead the Matron away for a chat. Eren is led into the dining room by one of the orderlies who is sporting a rather ugly scowl on his face.

"Ya got fuckin' guts kid," he growls, "Suing us? Y'think ya c'win?"

The disgusting man bumps Eren's shoulder roughly as he passes him, and Eren almost snaps. He is walking a wire-thin line here, and it is all Eren can do to not turn around and bury his fist into the pig's face. Kiara has to dig his nails into Eren's arm and slap him upside his head to get the taller man to relax his muscles which are already stretched close to breaking point.

"Let me hit him, Kiara. Just once. You could cover for me. I know you could. All you need to do is press a goddamn button and you can wipe someone's existence clean off the face of the earth. Sure you can help me out here. Just one punch."

"I'm not wasting resources to let you indulge in your stupidity," Kiara says, his voice calm and smooth as he sits Eren down on a rickety wooden chair, "Act your age, and do not hit anybody."

"Then can I break something?" Eren asks, his tone flat and his gaze staring off into nothing, "Just let me break something, Kiara. If this continues, I might just snap."

"No," Kiara says firmly, and he squeezes Eren's shoulder, "No hitting people and no breaking things. You are to sit here with me and wait. Later we'll get to discuss your custody of Levi when the police and Social Services are done with the Matron."

Eren blinks wearily and looks at Kiara, "Don't you need to be with them or something?"

Kiara raises a perfect brow, "Why in the world should I?"

Eren shrugs, "Aren't you a lawyer? Don't you have to, I dunno, talk to them?"

Kiara blinks once, twice, then stares at Eren as though he is the stupidest person alive, "Are you that retarded? Surely you're just shitting with me? You hired me, not them. I am responsible for my client, that is you, and to my client only. I said that I would get Levi out for you, and so here I am, getting Levi out for you. D'you think I give a crap what happens afterwards? I don't do charity, I do what I am paid for."

Eren wonders how Kiara can be so calm and collected while handling situations. Kiara is certainly a bastard who doesn't give a rat's ass about morals or loyalty, and his world revolves only around wealth and power. But he really is a useful person to have in Eren's contacts. It is like nothing can faze him at all. Eren smiles wryly.

"Thanks."

"Don't thank me," Kiara snorts, turning to look out the window, "You're the one paying me for this. I'm only doing my job."

Eren is about to comment on the fact that they are friends, so he should get a discount, but then the door is flung open, and a very red-faced Matron stalks in, followed by two orderlies, one of them the man that Eren had wanted to snap his neck.

"Let me talk, alright? Don't butt in or give them anything that could be used against us." Kiara says, and he turns on his default lawyer-smile as he faces the three people entering the room.

Eren nods, but crosses his fingers underneath the table. He can't guarantee he won't do something stupid, because after all, his hotheadedness and impulsiveness didn't seem to have faded even a little bit despite being reincarnated. He doesn't care for the legal jargon Kiara is spewing. He taps his foot impatiently against the table leg. All he wants to do is hurry the process up and get Levi the hell out of here. Kiara's mouth is moving, and Eren can also see the Matron arguing with all her might, strands of grey hair sliding out of its bun. The two orderlies, the man and one ratty-looking woman are staring at Eren with looks that could kill.

"The hell are you staring a—"

And Eren has to bite his tongue to stop the undignified yelp that threatens to escape his lips when he feels the heel of an expensive shoe ram down into his foot. Kiara shoots him a sideways glare that could rival Mikasa.

"This is ridiculous," snarls the Matron, effectively making Eren stare daggers at her, "You can't do this to us. Why the hell are you doing this in the first place? What have we ever done to you!"

Eren will probably have committed mass homicide if Kiara didn't grind his heel harder into Eren's foot, nearly snapping several bones. Succssfully shutting the other up, Kiara once again turns a professional smile on the Matron and speaks coolly, "Like I said previously, speak to me, not my client. I assume Social Services gave you their report? Well then, why don't we sit down and settle this… abuse business."

Eren watches with narrowed eyes as the Matron's face twists into a nasty grimace and she all but spits at Kiara, bony shoulders shaking in fury, "What nonsense. There is no abuse going on. What we do is perfectly legal and we only do it to discipline the children. That is within our rights! We _own_ them!"

And Kiara just interrupts smoothly, because that is all he needs to hear.

"Enough," he says, and flicks through the papers in his hands, "I will inform Social Services about this, but before that, I would very much like it if we could discuss the release of Levi. Better yet, why not call him here. I think it is justifiable that I get to see for myself his current condition."

"No," the Matron says, her tone icy, "I do not need to listen to or comply with you. This is harassment! I am not putting any of the children in front you, yo—"

But really, Eren has had enough.

"Are you deaf as well as stupid?" he snarls coldly, getting to his feet, unable to keep his mouth shut any longer. Ignoring the fact that Kiara's heel is practically snapping his toes, Eren forces on, almost beside himself with fury and disbelief.

"Do you need him to repeat himself? Or do you need someone to spell it out for you? I want to see Levi, and don't sprout anymore bullshit or else I will bring this matter to court," Eren continues, getting up and towering over the trio before him, "Do not test my patience, _Ma'am_, because I am already stretched _this_ thin. So I suggest you quit with this pseudo-saint bullshit and fucking _cooperate_."

The ringing silence just stretches, and although Eren can't really tell from Kiara's expression, he can see a strange yet approving gleam in the man's green eyes. Had he been waiting for Eren to explode?

The Matron gulps, and Eren can feel satisfaction slipping like sweet honey through his veins. Well, the 'taking this to court' threat is definitely a lie, but Eren is taking a leaf out of Kiara's book: fight bullshit with lies will always work like a charm.

Goddammit. That felt _good_.

"I— C-Court? B-But— Are you threatening me?" She hisses, trying to regain some semblance of control over the situation.

Eren merely scoffs and smirks wryly, "Didn't I say before? I'm promising, not threatening. Threats can be made but are rarely followed through. But promises? That I always keep. Now where is Levi? I'll go see him for myself."

The Matron looks ready to protest, and the other two orderlies appear prepared to back her up. However, Kiara intervenes, "You heard my client. I do have enough evidence to win this case in court, so if you really want to take this matter onto my playing field, you'd better get lawyered up real good.

The sadistic smile that curves at Kiara lips makes even Eren swallow nervously.

"So? What's it going to be?"

No one speaks, and Eren is really going to lose whatever patience he has left. Kiara can see the last threads of his control slipping away.

"It would be in your best interests to answer the question," he says, laying hand of Eren's shoulder, "I don't see why you are so adamant preventing us from meeting him, unless you have something to hide that is."

The Matron seems to be debating on the options presented, but finally she does answer, albeit reluctantly, "It's his bath-time right now, so he should still be in the showers. I'm afraid I can't let you see him."

Kiara raises a perfect brow, "Alone?" He queries in a disapproving tone.

The Matron looks away, and the male orderly answers for her, "He dun'st like us folks touchin' em. Always insists on doin' everythin' on 'is own."

Kiara tuts softly, a sly smirk playing across his face, "He is just four, yes? Now that isn't a very good start, letting young children settle themselves alone in a bathroom."

"He's always done everything alone since the day he got here! You have no clue how violent he gets when we try to help!"

"Wait, wait, hold up," Eren interrupts, attention piqued, "Did you say ever since Levi got here, he has refused to rely on anyone? _Anyone_ at all? For anything?"

"What about it?" growls the male orderly rudely, "Not everybody can rely on useless parents to do shit for 'em."

"Shut up, I wasn't talking to you," Eren snaps dismissively, attention completely on the Matron, "Levi has been quiet and withdrawn since the start, correct? He isolates himself from people, and when people try to be nice to him, he lashes out at them, am I right?"

"S-So? Obviously the best course of action to take would be to leave the brat alone!"

"That's probably the stupidest excuse I have very heard," Eren retaliates, realisation suddenly smacking him in the face. Being around children so often, he already knows that there is definitely something wrong with Levi. The signs were all there, and coupled with neglect and harsh treatment dealt out by these people will have most likely further worsened the problem already festering.

"Where is Levi?" Eren asks again, this time in a more demanding tone, "WHERE THE HELL IS HE?"

The Matron swallows roughly, and doesn't answer. Eren would have most likely punched her, consequences and decorum be damned if the other mousey female orderly hadn't answered for her.

"He's in the bathroom on the second floor," says the woman, fiddling nervously with her fingers. "T-There are no locks, so—"

But Eren is already out the door, ignoring Kiara's stern call of "_Jaeger, sit your ass back down!_" and bolting down the musty hallway. He isn't sure where he is going, but Eren manoeuvres himself to a flight of rickety old stairs at the far end of the corridor. He rushes up, going two steps a time and almost barrelling into a gaggle of small children as he rounds a sharp corner. It isn't until he arrives at a family area-cum-kitchen that he realises he doesn't know where the bathroom is. Catching sight of a group of older children, Eren tries to recompose himself before asking for directions.

Eren bolts toward the dim corridor where the showers are just as he sees a very pissed-looking Kiara walking as fast as he can up the stairs and toward him. Disregarding the possibility of being eviscerated by the other man, Eren makes his way to a door from which he can hear the gushing of water hitting tile.

He forgets to knock. He forgets to call out. Eren slams open the door roughly, making the wooden doorknob smash into the plaster with a dull bang.

And Levi is in there.

The bathroom is so ridiculously small that it is impossible to hide. Eren's frantic gaze falls on the abysmally skinny body of his former Corporal, hunched on a stool with his back to him underneath the shower.

Eren sees red as his mind goes blank with fury.

Levi has his face half turned toward the door, a look of shock overtaking his usual apathetic expression. Droplets of moisture slip down pale, pallid skin, curling over protruding shoulder blades that resemble broken wings. He is so thin to the point where Eren can count the sharp knobs of Levi spine that curve into a gentle arch from neck to waist.

But what really makes Eren sick with nausea is the sight to the countless stitches, scars, cuts and bruises adorning Levi's body like deadly black-red butterflies, peppering the alabaster skin along his waist and all over his back and arms.

Some of them look old, the injury turning a sickly yellow hue; but some look terribly recent, and Eren notes many red splotches of petechiae that dust along the patches of blue-black, making Levi's tiny body look like a walking mural.

Eren is so busy just trying to process the sight before him, he completely forgets that the child is stark naked, but he is immediately brought back to the present by a dull pain at his side. Looking down, he sees a bar of soap — the cheap hard kind that they sell in bulk at convenience stores.

"_Get out_!"

And soon, more bars of soap, toothbrush cups and towels hanging on a nearby rack are flung at him, and Eren notes Levi's flushed face and eyes wide with fear. Eren doesn't do anything. He just tries to dodge the many missiles that Levi launches at him.

Levi crowds into a corner of the shower stall, huddling into himself as he blindly snatches up objects from the floor and hurls them are hard as he can at Eren, all the while yelling at him to get out.

"No! Get out get out get out get out _getoutgetoutgetout_— Don't look at it! Don't look at me!"

Levi's fingers latch onto something rough and hard — a pumice stone — and without hesitation, flings it at Eren, not registering or caring where it hit, as long as it got the man out of the room.

The stone strikes Eren on the face with a sickening thud, and Levi jumps, eyes widening further and his entire form trembles pitifully. Eren can feel the stinging pain on his cheek, and he can feel the scratches smarting when he touches it. Drawing his hand away, a smudge of pink comes off on his fingers. Looking up he sees Levi's mortified expression as the boy tries to disappear into the grimy tiles of the bathroom.

The sight of the child sitting there in a rather indecent position, soaked to the bone and shaking uncontrollably, tears at Eren's heartstrings. It is as though someone had reached in and ripped his innards to shreds. Deftly, he picks out a towel off the ground and approaches Levi's trembling from.

As Eren nears him, Levi flinches sharply and squeezes his eyes shut, as though expecting to be hit. Eren wants to cry, scream and rage all at the same time, but now, he needs to make Levi relaxes before the boy hyperventilates.

Kneeling down under the spray of water and not caring that his jeans and sweater were getting soppy, Eren wraps the towel around Levi's slight body and gathers the boy into his arms, towel and all and falls onto his backside out of the shower stall, still holding the shivering bundle to his chest.

Eren can't see levi's face, but he can guess just how confused Levi is at the moment. One arm securely around the small child's waist and another cradling his wet hair, Eren presses Levi's nose into the crook of his neck and whispers gentle nothings into his ear.

"It's okay, Levi. You've worked hard. It's alright now, you don't have to hold back anymore."

Levi goes completely still in his arms, before fidgeting and trying to pull away, small hands shoving at Eren's chest.

"W-Wha—"

But Eren just tightens his hold on Levi and cards a gentle hand through the boy's hair in attempt to soothe him.

"Shhh. Shhh. It's okay. Let it out Levi. Let it all out," Eren pats the soft head of hair carefully, "You've done enough. Just rest now."

Levi squirms slightly in his hold, but Eren doesn't pause in his ministrations, not even when Kiara busts in through the open door, mouth open and ready give him a thorough lashing. The older man stops at the sight before him, taking in Levi's shivering form and the evidence of bruises that peek through the folds of the towel.

Instead, he gives Eren a nod, before exiting the room and closing the door behind him. Eren can hear the lawyer's cold voice through the thin wood as he confronts the orderlies outside.

Eren panics when the bundle in his arms go limp as Levi's head falls into the junction of his neck and shoulder. Slowly, slowly, Eren can hear soft, controlled sobs that seem to rip thought Levi's throat. He can tell that the smaller boy is trying to stifle them or force them back down, because the poor child coughs pitifully into Eren's skin before the dam breaks and choked cries wrack Levi's small frame.

Eren has to force the burning sensation behind his eyelids away as he rubs comforting circles into the crown of Levi's head, the other hand gliding gently around the child's back.

"That's it. It's all okay now. I'm here."

Levi's restricted sobs reaches new octaves and his small hands dig painfully into Eren's chest. Soon the child is wailing, and Eren can feel something tear through his being. If there is one thing Eren can't stomach, it would be a child's crying. The sound of it makes him feel as though something poisonous and painful was slipping through his veins, hot and cold and stinging all at once.

Levi cries and cries. Eren isn't sure how long he sits there for, but he can barely feel his legs when the last of Levi's tremors reduce to soft, occasional sniffs and gasps. Eren finds himself humming a comforting tune — the one he uses when the three-year-olds at the kindergarten start wailing for their mothers — while carding a slender hand through Levi's hair, unconsciously rocking the small body in his arms.

Eren can feel Levi's face pressing awkwardly against his collarbone, where some drool and tears make another wet patch there. He wonders whether it is now safe to try to examine Levi properly, but then the tiny body latches itself tightly onto Eren before going completely still. Looking down, Eren notices that Levi has passed out, most likely from all the stress and crying.

The sight of that face, once full of resolution and strength being diminished into this sickly sallow one, Eren can feel his heart clenching painfully. He hugs Levi's body close and presses a kiss into the soft crown of hair.

"It's okay, Corporal," Eren whispers, "Now, it's my turn. I'll protect you. I swear it."

* * *

><p>When Eren emerges from the bathroom, he has a sleeping Levi curled up in his arms, one small hand clutching tightly at his sopping sweater. Kiara takes in the sight in front of him grimly, before turning to the Social Services representative who had come to assist and nodding.<p>

In less than fifteen minutes, The Matron and all orderlies were hauled downstairs in cuffs by the police and into squad cars and backup vans. Eren barely registers the going-ons around him, but he does remember almost taking the Social Services representative's head off for trying to touch Levi. Eren knows that he is currently too high strung and pumped with adrenaline to think straight, and he has the Matron and her cronies to thank for that.

By some magical smooth talking, Kiara manages to convince the Social Services representative to allow Eren to look after Levi for now, but Eren will need to hand Levi over to them until he has completed all the correct forms, and is deemed suitable to adopt the child in an already fragile mental state.

When Kiara tells him this, Eren can only sigh. He knows that there will be mounds of paperwork to go through to get full custody of Levi. But the thought of giving the child up for just a minute doesn't sit well with Eren. It is as though the only way he can ensure Levi's safety is to be able to watch over him personally.

"He needs a hospital, Kiara. Please let me take him," Eren says. He can't leave Levi. Not after all this.

"I know you want to be with him Jaeger. You are practically oozing mother-hen pheromones," Kiara snorts, "But be reasonable. Why don't you just let me call the ambulance and they can take Levi to the hospital while you sit here with me and start on the paperwork. By the looks of it, the kid isn't going to wake up anytime soon, so it should be fine."

Eren wants to protest, but he can see that this is a better idea. By the time he is done with the paperwork, he will have the right to take Levi home. The interviews will be conducted a little later when everything has settled down. After that, he will be Levi's permanent caretaker.

"Alright," Eren finally agrees, "But no shrinks and no psychiatric bullshit okay? I won't allow it."

Kiara rolls his eyes, "Of course, of course. If you want to deal with this kid's mental problems, be my guest. But it's really obvious that he has a whole mother load of emotional issues, especially after all this. You need to deal with it as soon as possible."

Eren can only nod absently.

When the ambulance arrives, he reluctantly leaves Levi in their care before Kiara makes him strip off his soggy clothes and change into a pair of oversized sweats and trackies, courtesy of the janitor of the orphanage.

The rest of the children are evacuated in groups of ten by the authorities, and Eren watches with a strange feeling of accomplishment and relief as the small kids exit the door for the final time. Quietly, he turns to follow Kiara to the abandoned dining room, where a stack of forms are waiting. Settling down, Eren gets to work as Kiara hovers over him like an oversized owl, pointing out mistakes and telling him where and what to sign.

Eren sighs.

It is going to be difficult to get custody of Levi, but Kiara reassures him that since he is already a pretty well known as a kindy teacher and also for his kindness and capabilities, there shouldn't much hassel getting though the selection process.

"And besides, you have me," Kiara adds, smirking, "If you can't get Levi through legal means, there are always other ways that I am very well revised in."

Eren splutters, but doesn't comment.

"But of course, it _will_ cost extra, Jaeger."

Ah, but of course. He shouldn't have expected anything less from this asshole of an ice demon.

* * *

><p>Eren makes sure that he is the first person that Levi sees when the boy opens his eyes. he smiles down at the smaller boy, who just lies against the fluffy hospital pillows and stares up at Eren blankly.<p>

Levi doesn't smile, nor does his express any joy upon seeing Eren, but suspecting that this reincarnated Levi must be somewhat like the Corporal Levi form the past, Eren knows that he should not be expecting any normal reactions. He knows Corporal Levi, and if anything, he does not express his feelings or emotions well. So when Levi only shakes and nods to Eren's simple questions of "How are you feeling," or "Are you comfortable," Eren knows that it is a very, very good sign that Levi is acknowledging him.

The raw fear in Levi's eyes is gone, and they are as honest as can be as the child stares at Eren, and the latter can't help but feel like King of the world.

Pulling up a chair to Levi's bedside, Eren asks if it is alright to straighten his blanket for him. When Levi doesn't answer, Eren takes it as a yes, and smooths a hand over the creases of the thin hospital blankets. Smiling, Eren takes this opportunity to ruffle Levi's hair gently. The boy doesn't flinch away or hit Eren, so he can deduce that Levi trusts him to a point, because he still stiffens up slightly if Eren gets too close to him.

Other than that, Levi seems to enjoy Eren's company.

Softly, Eren brushes the bangs from the child's forehead, laughing quietly as Levi yawns.

"Are you tired?"

Levi nods.

"Alright. Then sleep."

Eren blinks when Levi latches onto his hand tightly, holding his arm in place. Although the boy doesn't speak, Eren might as well be the stupidest person alive if he fails to understand what that means.

He laughs, "Okay, okay, I'll stay. I promise."

Levi pauses for a minute before nodding, but he still refuses to release Eren's hand.

"Levi?" Eren asks abruptly, wondering if this is the correct time.

The child turns his body to face Eren, quirking a brow.

"Would you like to come live with me after you are discharged?"

And if the way Levi just tightens his tiny fingers around Eren's hand, blunt nails digging painfully into Eren' skin and really, really, really doesn't want to let go isn't answer enough, Eren doesn't know what is.

* * *

><p><strong>Next Chapter: Scars<strong>

**Eren never realised how cruel children could be until today.**

**Do drop a review on your way out if you enjoyed this chapter. Thankies 3 **


	4. Scars

**A/N: I am not one for long A/Ns but seeing that I have been absent for a loooong time, I think a bit of explaining is required :) I spent the past week in another country which had a lousy internet connection at the place I lodged at, so yeah. Also, I joined a fic exchange event, with the fic due very soon, so that was prioritised instead of this (and I'm still not done with that fic). I have had a few problems with getting a beta-reader for that fic, so I'm in quite a pinch now. (WHOEVER IS INTO KAT-TUN Kame/Ueda, please feel free to PM me if you want to help this amazing procrastinator beta her fic. All you need to do is send me your email so we can correspond easily.) Anyway, this chapter is long, because I wanted to explore Eren's and Levi starting their life together for a bit in detail, so I have this entire chapter dedicated to Levi's first few days with Eren. I suppose there is some plot in here *checks notes* yep, there is definitely some plot here. Ah yes, and some people may think that child Levi is rather ooc and clingy, but remember, Eren is the only person who has ever shown him care, and from my research, all the dehumanising and abuse Levi experienced, he will be rather insecure, so obviously he'll be slightly clingy.**

**Finally, on with the story!**

* * *

><p>"Tell me again, Jaeger," Jean says, a nerve jumping in his throat, "Why am I here at goddamn five in the morning? Give me one good reason why I shouldn't whip your sorry titan ass into the middle of next week."<p>

"He is your superior as well, so it makes sense that you help me!"

"Was, Jaeger. He _was_ my superior! I mean, he's a kid now! I don't see why I need to do this!"

"Oh, just shut up and help me, horseface," Eren groans while tightening a white bandana around his face, "This place has to be completely foolproof before Levi is discharged. So get your lazy horse butt into gear and obliterate any speck of dust you see."

Although Jean complains and complains, he does finally give in.

"You owe me, Eren. You owe me for life," grumbles Jean as he pulls on a pair of latex gloves before rummaging through the bags of cleaning supplies stacked on top of Eren's old coffee table.

Just yesterday Eren received a notice from Levi's doctor, stating that he was to be released in a week's time. Throughout Levi's stay at the hospital, Eren had faithfully visited him everyday, sometimes leaving early from work just to get a few more extra minutes with the small child.

Eren had to be in the same room before Levi allowed any doctor or nurse to touch him. Once, when Eren was running late, his doctor had decided to proceed without preamble. Suffice to say, Levi went ballistic and almost took the doctor's arm off when the man tried to touch him. Ever since then Eren had specifically requested that no-one was to handle Levi without his permission unless it was a life-threatening situation.

But this was understandable, given the extent of Levi physical and mental trauma. The doctor had explained just how severe Levi's injuries were. There were many old scars and healed bones that were there long before Levi was sent to the orphanage. The newer cuts and scrapes were definitely from during his time in that hellhole, but it was the older injuries that really shocked Eren.

The number of healed bones and stitches Levi received in the past was not normal, and according to the doctor, they were very badly healed. This meant that whoever performed first-aid on Levi in the past had no clue what they were doing. It was because of this serious information uncovered that Eren's custody of Levi was placed on hold as police investigated the matter. Again, Kiara had to intervene to stop more paperwork from flooding Eren desk and driving the man closer to breaking point.

After receiving the news regarding Levi's release, Eren had closed the kindergarten and promptly taken a day off work, before heading down to the nearest convenience store. That day he spent well over a hundred dollars on bleach, wax, sponges, scrubs, latex gloves, hand sanitisers, and soap. Oh yes, bottles and bottles of honey and milk hand soap.

Mikasa was on a college excursion, so Eren had to recruit Jean to help him with straightening out his apartment for Levi's arrival.

As Eren wipes down his bookshelf with a dab of sweet-smelling lavender-water, he looks around his smallish apartment. Eren isn't a very messy person, and compared to Jean's hovel, his home is immaculate. But remembering how the Corporal of the past checks even the windowsills and could pick out the smallest smudge of dirt… Eren shivers. No, everything needs to be perfect.

Eren can hear Jean grunting in his bedroom as he hauls a brand new futon into place. Eren had specifically purchased a new futon a week prior and had it washed again just to get rid of the 'new' smell that stuck to the cotton. He had also taken the liberty to buy some clothes and toiletries as well, but Mikasa had caught sight of them when she visited the day before her excursion and shook her head.

Eren may be an expert with handling children, but he truly sucked at choosing the best products. After all, Hanako sensei was the one who shopped for the kindergarten. Eren never really put much thought into what he bought as long as they were safe for kids to use.

"You should get him something for sensitive skin, Eren," Mikasa had said, "From what you told me about all that happened to Levi, I suggest you go for something with a lighter scent and is soothing to skin."

Of course Mikasa knows what is best. Ripped or not (Eren hates to admit he is very, very jealous of her damn six pack), she is still a girl.

"You finished with the bedroom?" Eren calls out.

"I don't know, you tell me!" Jean shouts back, clearly pissed, "You've made me wipe down the stupid armoire five times already!"

Eren sighs and walks in, just to see Jean sprawled eagle on his floor.

"Well, that's because you clean like crap," Eren admonishes, waving a feather duster threateningly, "Even the children at my kindergarten can do better."

"Man, since when have you become Corporal Levi number two?" Jean groans, "I really doubt a kid will notice any difference between a table being polished once or fifteen times."

Eren huffs and prods at Jean with his foot, "Get up, you're getting sweat on my timber floor," he says, "And for your information, jerkwad, I don't care if Levi-san notices anything. I just want everything to be just as how Corporal Levi would have liked it."

Jean now stares at Eren seriously, "Eren, do you even hear yourself now?" He asks, tone urgent, "You are treating a child as your would a superior. You need to understand that this isn't Corporal Levi. This is Levi the Kid. Are you sure you aren't just looking for a replacement parental figure?"

Eren scowls, "I'm not stupid, Jean," he snaps, "I know that this isn't Corporal Levi, I just think that Levi-san will have some of Corporal's attributes and I want to make him feel as at home as possible. Look, you have no idea how disgusting the living conditions in that orphanage was. It wasn't even borderline child neglect, Jean. Those people there were full on 'I-don't-give-a-shit-about-human-rights-screw-the-Geneva Convention'!"

"That's a little exaggerated Eren," Jean says tartly, "But I get where you are going. I mean, I can't imagine Mika going through what Levi did."

Eren raises a brow, "Mika?"

"My little sister, idiot."

Eren pauses and stares at Jean strangely, "Did you name her after Mikasa or something, because that is just weird."

Jean blushes a thousand shades of red, and Eren has to hold back a laugh, but fails miserably and explodes into undignified cackles that sends Jean leaping at him with a face that just screams murder.

"Oh my God! Are you _still_ crushing on her? Jesus, Jean! I can't even— This is that most hilarious thing I have ever come across in two thousand years, and that's fucking saying something."

"Shut up, asswipe!" Jean yells, but when he does, it comes out all weird and high pitched, as though someone has pulled his balls down so far that they can't go back up.

"Oh God my sides!" Eren chokes, "Oi! Alright, alright, I'm sorry! Now let me go!"

Jean does, and now they are both on the floor panting hard. It's awhile before Jens gets his breath back, but when he does, he sounds rather sulky.

"I'm not crushing on her, you idiot, she's just a friend in college. It's just that… I want my sister to grow up into someone like Mikasa, y'know? Brave, pretty, strong, and kind. I'd be like, the proudest big bro ever. So yeah, I thought it'd be cool to name her after Mikasa. My parents loved it. Heh, they completely fangirled over it in fact."

Eren can't help but smile. Jean has changed in so many ways he can't ever begin to make head or tail of things. Eren thinks that this Jean is definitely much, much more likeable.

"But what if other guys try to make a move on her?" Eren teases, sitting up and and giving Jean a sly grin, "What is 'Big Bro Jean" gonna do?"

"Why I'd fucking kick their asses to kingdom come!" Jean yelps, sitting up straighter, "Like I'm gonna simply let any filthy asshole sully my baby sister!"

Eren raises a brow, "I may not have met her yet, but isn't she like, fifteen? Obviously she's going to have boyfriends and crushes, and perhaps the occasional make-out in school. You can't really stop that."

Eren almost feels sorry when a scandalised look overtakes Jean's face, but really, this is too funny to let go.

"W-Wha-What the hell do you mean, Jaeger! Mika is innocent and pure! She isn't going to do stuff like that! She can't!" Jean almost shouts. Eren has to cringe away at the high-pitched tone.

"Wow, Jean. I feel sorry for you, man," Eren scoffs, "Come on, you've been there. You should know how it's like. Hell, I've snogged at least," he counts off his fingers, "Three girls and I think, four guys at that age. Oooh, and the guys, with tongue," Eren adds, just for the sake of seeing the look of horror bloom on Jean's face.

Damn this is priceless. If only Mikasa were here to see it.

"D-Don't compare my sister to the likes of you, Jaeger!" Jean says hysterically, waving his arms around, "She's innocence in the flesh and you— You are just fucking sex on legs!"

Eren raises a brow, and Jean goes rigid with horror upon realising what he just said.

"Oh? Is that what you think I am?"

Eren can only laugh as Jean buries himself in swear words and flushes a billion shades of crimson. And Eren thinks just how lucky he is to have such a fun friend.

* * *

><p>Eren does a double and then a triple check a few hours before Levi is due to be discharged.<p>

The timbre floors, wooden dining table and shelves were polished and shined to perfection, until Eren can see his own reflection blinking back at him on the smooth wood. He had removed all empty and partially full beer cans accumulating in fridge and filled it with fresh vegetables, eggs, meat and milk. The bathroom sparkled and smelled of pine and lavender. Everything was set, including the little anti-slip adhesive rubber ducks in his tub.

"Did I miss anything?"

Biting his lip, Eren goes through his mental list once again, just as he hears a clicking at the front door. Turning around, he sees Mikasa stalk in, luggage and all.

"Oh, hey Mika— MIKASA, SHOES OFF."

Eren does a dive and slams into Mikasa just as she steps off the genkan, making her stumble slightly into the door.

"Do you know how long I spent polishing and buffering these floors?" Eren rasps, pressing forwards until he is right in Mikasa's face, all bulging eyes as heavy breaths, "Well, I can't even remember. That's how long."

MIkasa just blinks, apathetic expression perfectly in place. She lets her eyes rove around the apartment, and raises a brow in amusement, "Wow. I'm impressed. You even got rid of that growing stack of Chinese food containers on your kitchen counter."

Eren huffs and crosses his arms indignantly, "I'll have you know that I am pretty capable in cleaning well. It's just that before Levi, I didn't really need to have everything completely germ-free."

Mikasa only nods in approval. She may dislike the grumpy shorty, but she isn't going to deny the fact that thank god Eren finally decided to straighten his apartment out, "You did well, Eren. I'm sure the shorty will be glad. When is he getting out?"

"Today. I'm waiting for Jean. He says he wants to come. Why, I dunno, but I'm not very comfortable with the idea. But then again, he's bringing Mika, his sister," Mikasa raises a brow at this, "So I suppose that way he'll remember to behave at least."

It is silence for several moments and Mikasa takes time to properly look at Eren. He's different, she thinks. He is older than her, but for some reason, he seems more mature now, more… responsible. Well, Eren was already more 'grown up' before, but he lacked initiative. The kindergarten was his life. Spending time around someone else's children, loving them, caring for them... There has to be limit to how long he can live in this never-ending loop.

"What are you planning for him, Eren?" Mikasa asks, carding her fingers through her hair absently.

Eren grins wide at this, "I plan on enrolling him in my kindergarten actually. I've got his uniform, and cubby-hole and— Why are you laughing?"

"Nothing, nothing," Mikasa clears her throat to stifle any more chortles threatening to escape, "You really do care for the kid, huh? You're acting more excited than any new mom I've met, Eren. I'm happy for you. Besides, now I want to see just how the shorty got mommy-Eren wrapped around his little finger. You aren't gonna spoil the kid or anything, are you?"

Eren looks away, slightly sulky, his cheeks tinted a light pink.

"Of course not," he mutters. But upon remembering the terrified gleam in Levi's eyes that day in the bathroom, the child's body language all but screaming 'don't come near me', Eren thinks that perhaps spoiling the kid a little might not hurt.

"He isn't the same, Mikasa," Eren sighs, scratching the back of his head awkwardly, "He remembers nothing of the past, and sure he may have some of the Corporal's mannerisms and quirks," Eren remembers the strange way Levi had gripped his water cup in the hospital, holding the object by it's rim, "But he acts nothing like the Corporal. Similarities be damned, after all that abuse and neglect, Levi-san is probably way worse than the Corporal Levi of the past."

Eren isn't a stranger to Corporal Levi's uncouth behaviour and piss poor manners. But now, Levi has been reduced to this defenceless child, unconfident, and distrustful of everyone and everything around him. Eren knows that it will take a long while just to get Levi into a semblance of a normal child, but then again, he is determined. After all, it's not like the Corporal was very trusting in the past anyway. Eren just has to remember that Levi is a kid, and everything about him, no matter how strange, can be dealt with normally. He thinks that he should be fine, seeing that he is an expert with children. All Levi's reactions are that of a child severely deprived of love, care, and human contact. He is most likely to be socially stunted and very unsure of himself as well.

Mikasa doesn't stay long after that, saying that she still needs to get home to unpack and shower. Jean arrives a few minutes later with a pretty high school girl in tow. Eren has to admit that Mika is a very cute girl, with big eyes complete with a baby face and pastel rosebud lips. She is ridiculously polite to Eren, and her impeccable manners make the older man worry about his own.

Jean doesn't swear at all on their way to the hospital, which must be some world record, because Eren can still remember back in the day how horseface couldn't go five minutes with cussing the place down. But then again, he wasn't as bad as the Corporal — no amount of soap in the world could ever cleanse Corporal Levi's mouth off his filthy thug vocabulary.

Eren feels all light and fluffy when he steps into the antiseptic saturated air of the hospital. Mikasa is right. He's behaving worse than any new mother ever. The waiting hall is eerily empty, so Eren makes his way to the nurse's station and asks for Levi's doctor.

"Ah, are you Mister Eren Jaeger I presume? Yes, Levi is on his way down with the doctor, so if you will please wait for a moment?"

Eren smiles and nods, before walking back to Jean and Mika who are waiting a ways away against a pillar.

"So? Where's the kid, Eren?"

Mika immediately perks up.

"Oh, Eren-san, are you here to pick up your child? Congratulations! Onii-san didn't tell me what we were going out for, so I don't know. But I'm happy for you and your wife. It must be amazing to feel like a dad for the first time."

Mika smiles sweetly as she says this, and Eren nearly chokes on his own saliva. Jean clears his throat awkwardly before correcting his sister, "Mika, Eren isn't married. He's just here to pick up his ward."

"Oh. Oh, I'm so sorry! I thought—"

"Nah, it's fine. Hors— I mean, your brother is sorta right. I… Er, adopted a kid. So yeah, I suppose he's my ward," Eren says, looking away.

Mika merely nods, sensing the sudden heaviness saturating the atmosphere.

Eren sighs, looking around. Crap, why is this so damn awkward? But then, the sound of quick footsteps pattering the ground dispels the strained silence. Looking over his shoulder, he sees a small figure half-running toward him. Levi is sporting a loose jumper and faded track pants than hangs over his bare feet and Eren has this sudden urge to want to roll them up.

Levi's still has that default apathetic expression in place, but Eren can see the happy bounce in the child's step as the small boy stops just in front of him. Eren blinks owlishly down at the child, who just stares up at him. Suddenly, Levi tiptoes and grabs Eren's around the waist, burying his face into the front of the older man's sweater.

For a split second, Eren doesn't know what the fuck to do with his hands, and all he can think is: Ohmygod what is this Levi-san is acting too weird what am I doing just what—

But Eren manages to get his head screwed on right quickly, and hugs Levi lightly and ruffling his hair.

"Hello, Levi-san," he says fondly, "Did you miss me that much?"

The part of Eren's brain that remembers how the Corporal would give him a roundhouse kick to the head (and step all over his body while being K.O.-ed) is screaming at him to for God sakes are you asking for an early death let the Corporal go; but then Levi pulls away from Eren and pouts sulkily, which does not fail to melt Eren's pathetic heart into bits turning the man into mush in his hands.

"Not really…" Levi says softly, a blush painting his features.

This is followed by a series of obnoxious gagging and choking noises from Jean, who, forgotten in the background is unable to comprehend the display before him. Is this really the reincarnation of Humanity's Strongest? Because whatever this is, it is definitely nothing like Corporal Levi.

"Eren, is that—"

"Yes."

"Are you—"

"Yes."

"Oh. Are you really s—"

"Shut up Jean! You said you'd behave!" Eren hisses quietly over his shoulder. When he turns back to look at Levi, the boy is staring at Jean intently, eyes narrowed and gaze calculating. The boy shifts behind Eren, hands twisting into the fabric of his sweats, peeping around his body and giving both Jean and his sister a look that could kill.

"Ah, Levi-san, this is my friend Jean and that is his sister," Eren says, patting Levi's head softly, "They offered to come and pick you up with me. Would you like to say hello?"

MIka smiles and waves bends down to take a better look at Levi, while Jean mutters an awkward hello, but the small boy just frowns and tightens his hold on Eren before turns away rudely.

"No," Levi says flatly, "I don't."

Jean blinks in surprise, but as soon as he registers the situation, Eren watches — half amused and half aghast at Levi's ability to speak as though everyone was wasting his time even as a child — as Jean opens his mouth with a comeback on the tip of his tongue.

"Nii-san!" Mika hisses, dragging Jean away from Levi, who is still staring daggers at him.

"You can't get mad at children like that! I'm sure Levi-san is just tired."

Eren sighs and ruffles Levi's hair, "Levi, I don't think that was very nice."

"I don't like him," Levi deadpans, "I want to leave this place. Please," he adds as an afterthought.

Levi's doctor pulls Eren aside for a private chat and debriefs him regarding Levi's progress in the past few weeks. Eren isn't surprised to learn that the child bounced back rather quickly, showing no signs of distress whatsoever after the first week. But Eren isn't surprised when the doctor shakes his head sadly as he watches Levi's small figure leaning against a pillar waiting for Eren.

"He may seem fine, but personally, I don't need to be a psychiatrist to see that the child is just bottling everything up. I have done all that I can Mister Jaeger, but you will need to take him to a specialist for further examination."

Eren knows that Levi isn't fine at all, but he isn't planning to taking the kid to a shrink anytime soon. There has to be other less traumatising ways to settle Levi's emotional problems rather than having some stranger interrogate it out of him.

After collecting Levi's prescribed painkillers and other weird looking tablets, Eren makes his way out balancing the bag of pills on one arm and Levi on the other. Jean and Mika trails a little way away behind him, and Eren knows that the other man must be bursting with all the unnecessary comments he has managed to keep at bay throughout the day. Taking pity on him, Eren suggests that they part ways at a shortcut to Jean's house, saying that he can make his way home just fine.

Levi remains completely still in his arms, and it worries Eren, because the boy is unmoving and silent throughout their journey. It is difficult to climb the steps up to his apartment floor carrying Levi, but really, Eren doesn't have the heart to have the child climb four flights of stairs. When Eren tries to let Levi down so he can unlock his door, he doesn't miss the way Levi tightens his hold around Eren's neck, as though afraid that Eren will throw him away.

"I'm just going to unlock the door, Levi," Eren says, patting Levi's back. Even though Levi releases his grip on Eren, when he is finally standing, the child twists his fingers into Eren's sweater and refuses to let go. The action doesn't fail to stir the bitterness in Eren's gut, and all he wants to do is protect Levi and not let anything or anyone hurt him again.

Eren unlocks the front door and nudges Levi into the warmer room.

"You must be freezing, Levi," Eren says, shutting and locking the door behind him, "Would you like something warm to drink?"

Levi isn't listening. He is looking around Eren's home apprehensively, as though something would pop out of the darkened apartment and attack him. Eren flips on the lights and ushers Levi into the living room, where Levi just inspects the cozy space with something akin to wonder.

Eren waits for Levi to notice him, but the boy is still staring into space with wide eyes, so Eren proceeds to dump Levi's pills on the counter along with his apartment keys. Levi still hasn't budged, so Eren gently takes the child's hand so as to not startle him.

Levi jumps in surprise, but then he sees that it is Eren, and can only blink up at the older man, looking completely lost and bewildered.

"I think you need a warm bath before dinner," Eren says kindly, "You smells a little like the hospital, and I'm sure you'd want to wash it off, hmm?"

Levi blinks once, before looking away and nodding.

"Alrighty then," Eren says cheerfully, "Come with me."

Eren leads Levi by his tiny hand to his bedroom, where the small boy sees two futons laid out at opposite ends of the room, one looking fluffier while the other is more ratty and older looking. There is a pile of clothes on the fluffy futon and some toiletries sit on top of them.

"That is your bed, Levi," Eren says, "Mine's on the other side there, so you can call me anytime you need me. Oh, and these are some shampoos or something, I'm not very sure, but they are from my friend, Mikasa. You'll like her. Or at least I think you will."

Levi just blinks at the futon and the collection of clothing and supplies. He then turns to Eren with a strange expression on his face.

"These are… mine?" He asks uncertainly, looking positively confused.

Eren smiles and nods, "Of course they are!" He exclaims, ruffling Levi's hair again.

Levi doesn't answer for several moments.

"I have my own bed?" Levi says, sounding astonished, or as astonished as an emotionally stunted child can sound.

Now Eren's smile falters a little, "Of course you do, Levi," he says gently, "Didn't you use to have your own things as well?"

Levi merely shrugs.

"I never had such… nice looking thing before," Levi mutters, "Is it really okay?"

"Okay?" Eren reiterates, puzzled, "What do you mean?"

Levi turns to face Eren again, "Is it really okay for me to have these? I don't— I don't feel really comfortable. I don't know."

Eren can feel his insides churning once again, and he has to take several deep breaths to stop himself from wanting to permanently remove all the people who has ever hurt Levi from the face of the earth. Perhaps he should ask Kiara to do something; fabricate an accident, hire a hit man, whatever. Eren really doesn't care anymore.

Although Eren offers to help Levi with his bath, since he isn't completely recovered, the smaller boy flatly declines, and insists that he can do things on his own. It is difficult for Eren to watch Levi enter the bathroom alone because Eren is so used to pampering little children, that it is just plain weird for him to see a child, especially one as young as Levi demand no attention or care or help from him at all.

Since Levi doesn't need his help, Eren opts to prepare some dinner for the smaller boy. He isn't surprised to the fact that he feels relatively comfortable with the thought of looking after a child all on his own. Hey, if he can tackle over twenty rowdy kindergarteners ever day of the week, one kid isn't really going to throw him off.

Levi comes out of the shower with the new clothes (pyjamas) literally hanging off is small body, and Eren decides that he can no longer tolerate the sad sight of this ever again. He dishes out a small bowl of plain porridge and clear soup for Levi as a starter. Despite being skinny, Eren knows that Levi will not be able to keep proper food down after being so horribly underfed for so long and having being nourished via drip at the hospital.

Eren almost breaks down when Levi asks if it is okay to eat because why in the holy hell should the child have to ask _permission_ to eat if he is hungry? Just what were those orderlies doing to him in that orphanage?

It takes twice as long as a normal child for Levi to eat his meal, and even so, there is a possibility that he may be unable to finish it all. However, Levi appears to enjoy it and Eren is relieved. Cooking is probably the only other thing Eren is good at after childcare since he does it so often because Mikasa can't cook to save her life, so Eren frequently makes the younger woman dinner at her home. Apparently Eren is hopeless at everything else but acting like a complete mother to children.

When Levi cracks a small smile after the meal, Eren feels like he's at the goddamn top of the world and nobody can stop him.

As expected, Levi doesn't finish, and he appears very uncomfortable when he can't despite Eren saying that it is okay to be full. Everything proceeds as normal until the washing up part of the evening, where Eren receives a rather interesting surprise.

Strangely, Levi sticks close to Eren and watches him as he rinses the dirty dishes under the sink. Eren has to restrain his soapy hand from going to ruffle Levi's hair because goddammit, chibi Levi is just too damn adorable to not want to squeeze the life out of him.

Levi peers over Eren's arm at the bowl in his hand.

"You missed a spot, Eren."

And it is all Eren can do to not leap to his feet and drop down in seiza before Levi and beg for forgiveness and to not send a chopping kick his way and knock the daylights out of him because he will CLEAN IT UNTIL IT FRIGGIN SPARKLES, but then he remembers that wait, this isn't the Corporal.

So he gets to live to see another day.

Peering down at Levi's undercut that just brushes his elbow, Eren suppresses a shudder of fear.

"Jesus, you really are the Corporal aren't you, Levi-san."

Levi just stares up at Eren and quirks a brow, looking strangely amused.

"Are you an idiot? I'm Levi, not 'Corporal'."

Eren gives in and ruffles Levi's hair, which successfully paints a scowl across the smaller boy's features, "Hey, I resent that," he says jokingly, "I'm older than you after all."

When the last of the plates are washed and dried, Eren finally manages to focus completely on Levi, and finds that he did not dry his hair properly at all.

"Levi-san! You didn't dry properly!" Eren fusses and hurries for a towel, "You'll catch a cold this way. Come here please."

Eren notes that Levi is very obedient, which is slightly disconcerting, because Eren doesn't know if this uncharacteristic obedience if from continuous abuse or because Levi is just that good. As he gently dries Levi's hair, Eren breaks it that he plans on enrolling Levi into kindergarten. Sending Levi to school is one of Eren's main plans, since the orphanage never gave its children a proper education and Eren wants to make sure that Levi picks things up as soon as possible so he isn't left behind. He tries to do this as carefully as possible, lest the small child combust in anger.

When Levi's entire body stiffens at Eren's words, he quickly adds that the kindergarten is the one in which he works at. Instantaneously, Levi's shoulders relax, and Eren can feel the child's relief. Levi doesn't agree or disagree with Eren's idea, but he doesn't argue when Eren talks about the uniform prepared for him.

"That's good then, Levi," Eren says cheerily, "I think you'll like it there. I'll bring you to work with me as soon as possible for a trial run, okay? You can make friends with the kids there. They are really nice."

Levi merely makes a small sound that Eren can't discern. He will be lying through his teeth if Eren says that this sign of withdrawal doesn't worry him, but there is only so much Eren can do until Levi truly opens up to him.

Deciding that Levi has had enough excitement for the day, he bundles the boy in a cozy blanket that he had warmed earlier on near the heater and leads the boy to bed. Levi doesn't protest, but he does yawn magnificently when Eren says the word 'bed'.

As Eren tucks Levi in and smooths his hair back, he notices that the child appears to want to ask something, but is hesitating. Eren knows that he really must get Levi's confidence up, and try to reassure the boy that he isn't going to get hit if he asks a question.

"What is it Levi?" Eren asks gently, "If you want to ask something, just ask me. I will never hurt you if you want to ask a question, okay? Just say anything that's on your mind."

Eren smiles gently, and Levi fidgets slightly under the covers.

"Are there any books around?" Levi finally asks, his voice soft and muffled by the covers.

Eren grins.

"Of course! Do you want me to read you a story before you sleep?"

Levi blinks up at Eren, bewildered.

"Will— Will you?" He whispers, and Eren immediately melts into a puddle of goo, and there is no way he could have denied the small boy.

Eren isn't surprised to find that Levi enjoys fantasy stories, and settles on a new book which he purchased a while ago but never had the chance to read.

"I think you'll like this one, Levi," Eren says, settling down by Levi's futon, "I've not read it yet, but it's called 'Attack on Eden' by err… SFE Linda. It is a collection of short stories I think, full of giants, dwarfs, shapeshifters, warriors, fortresses… The works."

Levi nods eagerly.

"I like stories like that," Levi says softly, "They—" he pauses.

Eren can tell that what that following silence translates to: 'They take me away from this fucked up reality."

Eren thinks he sounds stupid when he pitches his voice high and low to match that of the many characters within the book as well as the sound effects, but Levi seems to enjoy it, to the point where the smaller boy's eyes are literally glued to Eren's form.

Levi falls asleep before Eren gets to the end of the second story. Although Eren leaves to clean and wash up, he doesn't plan on sleeping much at all tonight. Eren sits in bed with a book and waits. He doesn't have to wait very long, because just as he predicted, Levi starts to scream in his sleep before shooting up as straight and a board, eyes wild and haunted.

Eren waits for Levi to fully register his surroundings before approaching his taut form cautiously.

When Levi smacks away Eren's outstretched hand, the older man knows that Levi doesn't want his interfering any further. Eren knows that he needs to gain Levi's trust before attempting anything more, so with a quiet, "I'll be here in you need me, Levi," Eren returns to his futon and buries himself under the covers before turning to face the wall.

Despite giving Levi the privacy he wants, Eren is unable to sleep at all with Levi's soft, choked sobs reaches his ears, lasting well into the wee hours of the morning.

* * *

><p>Levi enters Eren's kindergarten after two days of getting used to his new, more comfortable and relaxed routine living with Eren.<p>

Levi doesn't hide behind Eren legs as the older man brings Levi to his class. The younger boy has that default apathetic expression on as he stares out at the sea of children, all looking at him through large, curious eyes.

As expected, when Eren asks Levi to introduce himself, the boy looks at Eren as though he is the stupidest person alive, and with a very unenthusiastic tone, mutters, "I'm Levi," to the silent class. Eren supposes that he should have anticipated something like this. Levi had never been a very social person, not even in the past, so there really isn't any reason why child-Levi will be any different.

Hanako-sensei takes an immediate liking to Levi, and since he is enrolled in the four-year-old classes, she will most likely be looking after him most of the time, seeing that Eren is the homeroom teacher for the five and six-year-olds.

However, although Levi exhibits a semblance of tolerance toward Hanako-sensei, he doesn't entertain her attempts to get him to talk and interact with the class. And this tells Eren that Levi's first day isn't going to be much of a success, but with time, Levi will slowly learn to open up a bit more.

Eren can tell with the way Levi watches his surroundings, that the younger boy doesn't appreciate being chucked with grubby, snot-nosed, four-year-olds, and the expression on his face literally screams: "I am surrounded by morons."

Finally Eren decides that despite being four-years-old, Levi is definitely more matured compared to the innocent little children around him. He takes Levi out of that class before recess, and allows the boy to accompany him to the six-year-olds' classroom. The children there are bigger than Levi, but Eren isn't particularly worried. None of the kids were violent, and they were all very well brought up, so there shouldn't be any problems with them.

Eren has to admit that the only problem here (really), is Levi himself. Levi is unable to be alone without Eren for more than an hour, and Eren isn't surprised by how nonchalant Levi seems to be with walking out on Hanako-sensei when she takes over Eren's class (while he cooks lunch) and quickly searching him out. The child isn't used to these rules of the norm. All he knows is of beatings and shoutings and orders, but over Eren's dead body will he ever subject any child to discipline methods that ghastly.

Eren, knowing that this is most likely a phase that will pass with time and care, allows Levi to have his way (after all, this is also the kid's first day). Levi sits next to him with Hanako-sensei at the teachers table during lunch, and Levi is also allowed to have much more alone time with Eren compared to the other children. Eren tries his best to not leave the other kids out, but it is difficult, because Levi seems to occupy all his attention (although not intentionally).

"You can read really well, Levi," Eren says, genuinely surprised, "Did you teach yourself how to?"

Levi, who is curled next to Eren in one of the empty playrooms (Eren had to ditch his class because Levi walked out in the middle of it) shrugs lightly, his eyes never leaving the book before him.

"I'm not stupid Eren," Levi says quietly, "And no, I didn't teach myself. Someone taught me."

Eren hums and nods.

"Who taught you?" He asks, because Eren can't see any of the orphanage orderlies doing something as taxing and teaching a child how to read. But Levi didn't seem to like that question, because the boy tenses up so fast that his body jolts sharply at the sudden constriction of muscle.

Levi doesn't answer at all, but completely ignores the question as though he didn't hear it, and Eren isn't going to push if it is something that Levi so badly doesn't want to talk about that he has to fake deafness to avoid it. Of course this is yet another mystery to add to the growing pile of questions without answers revolving around Levi's past, but Eren will wait for the appropriate moment to deal with them. Correctly ad slowly.

"I'm going to check on the boiling water, alright? After that I'll take you back to class. You can't just walk in or out whenever, Levi. It's impolite to the teacher and we wouldn't know where to find you. What if you got hurt?" Eren says gently.

Levi doesn't look at him, but then child gives the smallest of nods after a stretched period of silence. Levi will most likely still do it. But things like this takes time, and Eren is willing to give Levi all the time in the world if he can.

It is not five minutes after Eren leaves the room that four of the six-year-olds in his class stalk into the room, and quickly spot Levi curled up in a corner. Levi gives the group of children the most deadpan glare ever and returns his gaze to his picture book.

The biggest of the kids — a beefy boy with squinty eyes and a rather high-pitched voice — points a stubby finger and Levi and whines, "Stop hogging Eren-sensei! He's ours too! You can't have him with you all the time! It's isn't fair!"

Levi can feel that spoiled, whiny sound grating at his eardrums, but suppresses the urge to retaliate, after all, these are Eren's students, and Eren had personally reassured him that they wouldn't hurt him like the big neighbourhood boys, so Levi believes that as long as he doesn't talk to them, they will leave him alone. But really, who is this shitty brat kidding? Of course Eren is Levi's. Levi lives with him. Eren took him away from that nasty orphanage. Eren is nice to him. Eren looks after him, so it's just logical that Eren is his.

When Levi doesn't answer, another boy decides to butt in.

"We were here longer than you! Eren-sensei has been our teacher. And you aren't big boys like us. We are in the big six-year-old class! We are more grown up than you."

Levi closes his book with a snap and gets to his feet. He is a good head shorter and a lot skinnier and smaller than the boys before him, so Levi has to tilt his face upwards slightly to look at them in the face.

"Eren may be your teacher, but I live with him. Your argument is moot," Levi says in a calm, quiet tone.

The six-year-olds look at him with confused expressions, and Levi shakes his head.

"How pitiful. Did you lot not understand a word I said? Stupid."

Finally one of the children snap out of it and jabs a finger at Levi accusingly, "You're weird! How can you live with sensei? Teachers don't live with us! We have mommies and daddies that take us home at the end of the day? Don't you have your own mommy to pick you up?"

Levi stiffens, and a dead look creeps into his slanted eyes.

"That's right," he says flatly, "I don't have one. I only have Eren."

a very heat silence follows this confession, and the beefy boy (the most jealous of the lot) breaks down and wails, his hiccuping cries very piercing and loud. He glares at Levi through his tears, who in turn stares back without so much as a lazy blink.

"Y-You are a freak!" The child screams, stamping his foot and throwing a very bad tantrum, "You don't have a mommy so that's why you are here! You want to steal our Eren-sensei away! You can't have him, he's ours! I hate you! I wish you never came here! You freak!"

Eren reenters the room just as the beefy child finishes his little speech, and to say that he is gobsmacked is an understatement. He is not only shocked that one of his more quiet students had just said the most hurtful things, especially for Levi, even though the other child may not know it. The silence is broken only by the sharp wailing of the child, which eventually results in the other three children breaking down and crying for Eren-sensei as well.

Levi's eyes are blown wide, and Eren can see his bottom lip tremble as the picture book slips from his grasp and lands onto the floor with a dull thud. Levi doesn't speak, and for a moment, Eren expects Levi to cry, but then that broken expression quickly vanishes as Levi hurriedly bottles up all his feelings and whatever little light that is left in the child's eyes disappear. Levi doesn't speak. he doesn't blink. he just stares straight ahead, expression dead and blank.

In the room filled with the gradually quieting sobs of the children, Eren hears the quiet whisper, "I know," before Levi brushes past the beefy child and then past Eren to walk out of the room.

Eren closes his eyes and sighs.

Children are cruel, he thinks. Eren never truly realised how cruel children could be until it is because they don't really register the consequences that comes along with some of their comments. They think with their hearts and they tell us what is plainly there but we refuse to see. Children wear their hearts on their sleeve, and they show the truth and also tell nothing but the truth, that is why sometimes, they can hurt people too.

Eren doesn't know what he feels at he moment, but one thing is for sure, seeing Levi slam shut the door that he managed to open a crack is most likely the saddest, most disappointing thing that has ever happened to him.

He takes the four children aside, and smiles sadly at them. He pats their heads softly, but he can tell that they know they have done something wrong, but were unsure of what it was.

"Levi doesn't have a mommy or daddy," Eren says, getting straight to the point. After all, there really isn't any reason to beat around the bush anymore.

"He is what we call and orphan. Eren-sensei rescued him from an orphanage that had people who were really mean to him. They did bad things and they hurt Levi," Eren continues, gauging the reactions of the four kids before him.

"Oh, oh! Is that like, a home for kids without a mom or dad?" Asks on of the boys, wide eyed.

Eren nods, "Yes. He was being bullied there, so Levi is very lonely and sad. What you said to him was very mean. Think about it. How would you feel if your mommy didn't want you anymore? Hmm?"

The boys' lip trembles, "I-I would be very sad!" They say separately.

Eren smiles. When done correctly, the situation can be cleared up easily. He ruffles the boys' hair fondly, "Good. Now, shall we go find Levi to apologise?"

It isn't difficult to find Levi. Eren quickly spots him sitting alone on a window seat staring out the window. Then again, he supposes that Levi's intention wasn't to hide. He just wanted to be left alone.

"Levi-san?" Eren calls out gently.

The boy's head turns slowly to face Eren, but there is no visible reaction of any kind on the child's face. Eren watches as Levi's gaze glide across the expressions of the four boys staring next to him, and he can see apprehension and confusion reflected in those sleet-grey orbs.

"Mutou-kun and his friends wanted to tell you something," Eren says, "Would you listen?"

Levi blinks slowly, this time looking slightly bewildered at the situation, but the child nods and slips from the window seat to stand before the group, staring at the beefy boy, who is hiding behind Eren's legs.

"Go on, guys. Tell Levi-san what you wanted to say."

It takes a little bit of coaxing, but all four boys manage to apologise to Levi, and the latter looks so shell shocked at this that Eren gets more than a little worried. But then a very, very slight smile works its way onto Levi's lips, but it quickly vanishes. The smaller boy looks a little better now, and Eren is thankful for that.

"It's fine," Levi says softly, looking away, "I mean, you don't ned to get worked up about it and all."

Eren raises a brow at this, but doesn't say anything until the four boys are sent back to class and he is finally alone with Levi.

"Levi, are you sure you're okay?" Eren asks, approaching the small boy and carding a hand through his hair. Levi unconsciously leans into the touch, but his flat gaze doesn't leave the window.

"I'm fine, Eren," Levi mutters, and closes his eyes, "I've heard it too often to care already. To hear it again is nothing new."

Eren bites his lip and draws blood. he wants to say something, anything along the lines of 'YOU AREN'T SUPPOSED TO BE USED TO IT', but Levi suddenly winds small arms around his waist, and that just knocks every rational thought from his mind, because this may just be a huge step forward despite the setback.

The hug doesn't last long, and Levi pulls away very quickly when a loud shout of 'mail!' rings through the grates of the front door, but the child sticks close to Eren as the man potters toward the man entrance.

There is a silly grin on his face, and the mailman thinks so too, but Eren is too happy to care. he feels like the proudest parent in the world, but of course, he isn't going to say it. Still grinning, Eren sifts through the stack of letters, setting aside the water and electricity bill before moving on to the many job applications sent in.

Eren sighs as he makes his way back to the playroom with Levi by his side.

He knows he needs at least another full time worker, but the interviewing and selection process is not only tiring, but very, very annoying as well. It is even more so now, since all Eren wants to do is sit with Levi and read a book, but now he has to go over the new wave of applications, resumés, and cover letters.

Goddamn this.

"This isn't looking like a good haul," Eren numbles, doing a rapid once over for several applications. Most of the applicants were unemployed men and teenage kids, which Eren is rather iffy on dealing with, seeing that it is very hard to find a hardworking teenager who is good with kids, and the old men may be damn pedophiles for all he knew.

Eren is about to toss the stack into his IN box to deal with later, when a name on one of the forms in the messy pile catches his attention.

His throat goes dry and Eren can only stare at the application before him, feeling the air quickly leaving his lungs.

It read: _Petra Ral_

* * *

><p><strong>Next Chapter: Remember (Part I)<strong>

**Petra remembers, but honestly, she really didn't want to, until she saw a certain AD asking for full-time teacher at a particular ****kindergarten.**

**Haha, how do you guys like the cliffhanger of sorts LOL. Do drop a review on the way out if you approve XD**


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